Zadie Smith, Paul Murray and Naomi Klein are among the authors who have been shortlisted for the Writers’ prize, the award previously known as the Rathbones Folio prize.
Smith’s first historical novel The Fraud and Murray’s Booker-shortlisted tale The Bee Sting are joined on the fiction shortlist by The Wren, the Wren, Anne Enright’s story of an unhappy family that Elizabeth Lowry called “intimate and ambiguous” in her Guardian review.
Meanwhile in the nonfiction category, Thunderclap by the Observer’s art critic Laura Cumming and A Thread of Violence by Mark O’Connell have been shortlisted alongside Klein’s exploration of truth in politics, Doppelganger.
Completing the shortlist are three poetry collections: Self-Portrait as Othello by Jason Allen-Paisant, The Home Child by Liz Berry and Bright Fear by Mary Jean Chan.
The Observer’s poetry critic Kate Kellaway described reading Chan’s second collection, about the poet’s parents coming to terms with their child’s sexuality, as being “like testing the blade of a knife and finding it exquisitely sharp”.
One winner from each of the three categories will be awarded a £2,000 prize, and of these three, one writer will be crowned the overall winner, receiving an additional £30,000.
At last year’s Rathbones Folio prize ceremony it was announced that investment management company Rathbones would be stepping down as sponsor, and prize director Minna Fry said that the award was seeking new sponsorship.
In November last year the award announced its rebrand as the Writers’ prize. “Thanks to the generosity of a number of private individuals, book industry-related businesses, members of the Folio Academy and Trusts, the prize will go ahead with the same prize pot of £36,000,” the statement read.
However, in a new development, there are no judges for this year’s prize, and the shortlists have been chosen by the members of the Folio Academy, which is made up of more than 350 acclaimed writers. Having voted for the shortlist, academy members will now have access to all nine titles thanks to a partnership with NetGalley, a company that provides electronic copies of books to reviewers. Academy members will then vote for their winners, which will be announced at the London book fair on 13 March.
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“I’m absolutely delighted with this year’s shortlists, which seem to reflect the very best of 2023’s literature and include several titles that I’ve personally been surprised not to see on other prizes’ lists,” Fry said. “We are grateful to the academy, which has taken seriously its responsibility for highlighting and singling out these wonderful books, and we hugely look forward to seeing the eventual winners emerge.”
“The prize could not be happening without the financial support of business corporations, literary and charitable institutions, and members of the Folio Academy. I hope very much that this year’s prize will justify their faith in us and help to secure funding for a strong future,” she added.
Last year, Margo Jefferson won the overall Rathbones Folio prize for her “astounding and rhapsodic book” Constructing a Nervous System. Previous winners of the prize have included Colm Tóibín, Carmen Maria Machado and Valeria Luiselli.
Well, 2023 didn’t exactly go to plan, did it?
Here in the UK, the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, had promised us a government of stability and competence – not forgetting professionalism, integrity and accountability – after the rollercoaster ride of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. Remember Liz? These days she seems like a long forgotten comedy act. Instead, Sunak took us even further through the looking-glass into the Conservative psychodrama.
Elsewhere, the picture has been no better. In the US, Donald Trump is now many people’s favourite to become president again. In Ukraine, the war has dragged on with no end in sight. The danger of the rest of the world getting battle fatigue and losing interest all too apparent. Then there is the war in the Middle East and not forgetting the climate crisis …
But a new year brings new hope. There are elections in many countries, including the UK and the US. We have to believe in change. That something better is possible. The Guardian will continue to cover events from all over the world and our reporting now feels especially important. But running a news gathering organisation doesn’t come cheap.
So this year, I am asking you – if you can afford it – to give money. Well, not to me personally – though you can if you like – but to the Guardian. By supporting the Guardian from just $2 per month, we will be able to continue our mission to pursue the truth in all corners of the world.
With your help, we can make our journalism free to everyone. You won’t ever find any of our news reports or comment pieces tucked away behind a paywall. We couldn’t do this without you. Unlike our politicians, when we say we are in this together we mean it.
Smith’s first historical novel The Fraud and Murray’s Booker-shortlisted tale The Bee Sting are joined on the fiction shortlist by The Wren, the Wren, Anne Enright’s story of an unhappy family that Elizabeth Lowry called “intimate and ambiguous” in her Guardian review.
Meanwhile in the nonfiction category, Thunderclap by the Observer’s art critic Laura Cumming and A Thread of Violence by Mark O’Connell have been shortlisted alongside Klein’s exploration of truth in politics, Doppelganger.
Completing the shortlist are three poetry collections: Self-Portrait as Othello by Jason Allen-Paisant, The Home Child by Liz Berry and Bright Fear by Mary Jean Chan.
The Observer’s poetry critic Kate Kellaway described reading Chan’s second collection, about the poet’s parents coming to terms with their child’s sexuality, as being “like testing the blade of a knife and finding it exquisitely sharp”.
One winner from each of the three categories will be awarded a £2,000 prize, and of these three, one writer will be crowned the overall winner, receiving an additional £30,000.
At last year’s Rathbones Folio prize ceremony it was announced that investment management company Rathbones would be stepping down as sponsor, and prize director Minna Fry said that the award was seeking new sponsorship.
In November last year the award announced its rebrand as the Writers’ prize. “Thanks to the generosity of a number of private individuals, book industry-related businesses, members of the Folio Academy and Trusts, the prize will go ahead with the same prize pot of £36,000,” the statement read.
However, in a new development, there are no judges for this year’s prize, and the shortlists have been chosen by the members of the Folio Academy, which is made up of more than 350 acclaimed writers. Having voted for the shortlist, academy members will now have access to all nine titles thanks to a partnership with NetGalley, a company that provides electronic copies of books to reviewers. Academy members will then vote for their winners, which will be announced at the London book fair on 13 March.
Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
after newsletter promotion
“I’m absolutely delighted with this year’s shortlists, which seem to reflect the very best of 2023’s literature and include several titles that I’ve personally been surprised not to see on other prizes’ lists,” Fry said. “We are grateful to the academy, which has taken seriously its responsibility for highlighting and singling out these wonderful books, and we hugely look forward to seeing the eventual winners emerge.”
“The prize could not be happening without the financial support of business corporations, literary and charitable institutions, and members of the Folio Academy. I hope very much that this year’s prize will justify their faith in us and help to secure funding for a strong future,” she added.
Last year, Margo Jefferson won the overall Rathbones Folio prize for her “astounding and rhapsodic book” Constructing a Nervous System. Previous winners of the prize have included Colm Tóibín, Carmen Maria Machado and Valeria Luiselli.
Well, 2023 didn’t exactly go to plan, did it?
Here in the UK, the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, had promised us a government of stability and competence – not forgetting professionalism, integrity and accountability – after the rollercoaster ride of Boris Johnson and Liz Truss. Remember Liz? These days she seems like a long forgotten comedy act. Instead, Sunak took us even further through the looking-glass into the Conservative psychodrama.
Elsewhere, the picture has been no better. In the US, Donald Trump is now many people’s favourite to become president again. In Ukraine, the war has dragged on with no end in sight. The danger of the rest of the world getting battle fatigue and losing interest all too apparent. Then there is the war in the Middle East and not forgetting the climate crisis …
But a new year brings new hope. There are elections in many countries, including the UK and the US. We have to believe in change. That something better is possible. The Guardian will continue to cover events from all over the world and our reporting now feels especially important. But running a news gathering organisation doesn’t come cheap.
So this year, I am asking you – if you can afford it – to give money. Well, not to me personally – though you can if you like – but to the Guardian. By supporting the Guardian from just $2 per month, we will be able to continue our mission to pursue the truth in all corners of the world.
With your help, we can make our journalism free to everyone. You won’t ever find any of our news reports or comment pieces tucked away behind a paywall. We couldn’t do this without you. Unlike our politicians, when we say we are in this together we mean it.
