While it was already doubtful whether Bernadine Evaristo as the first black woman ever to win The Booker Prize Read more
Prizes
Bernardine Evaristo wins the 2019 Booker Prize
Bernardine Evaristo won the 2019 Booker Prize! Yesterday, on the evening of 14th October 2019, the Booker Prize judges announced that they awarded the prize to both Bernardine Evaristo and Margaret Atwood. My first reaction was an outburst of joy (and a little dance in front of my phone) – […] Read more
Fire and Fury – The (British) Literary Field in 2018
Gesa Stedman takes a look back at trends and developments which dominated the literary field in the UK in 2018. While non-fiction was on the up, fiction was less important Read more
Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival
The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival took place in Harrogate from 19-22 July 2018. Lynn Parkinson reports from North Yorkshire for the Literary Field Kaleidoscope. Read more
Jhalak Prize for Reni Eddo-Lodge’s Why I No Longer Talk to White People about Race
Gesa Stedman explains one of the most recent attempts to diversify the literary field in the UK, the Jhalak Prize, which was awarded for the second time on 15 March 2018. Read more
Warwick Prize for Women in Translation
This November, the Warwick Prize for Women in Translation was awarded for the first time. Katy Derbyshire attended the ceremony and wrote this piece for the Literary Field Kaleidoscope. It was a long time coming. Translators in particular started noticing the gender imbalance in published translations, awards listings and review […] Read more
Prizing Experiments – The Goldsmith Prize 2017
Gesa Stedman explains how The Goldsmith Prize differs from most other literary awards – authors win it not for readability, accessibility or commercial appeal but rather for the formal risks they take. Read more
Why Academics Cannot Compete With Poets – A Written Encounter with Georg Büchner Prize-Winner Jan Wagner
Gesa Stedman encountered Jan Wagner in writing as a student before he was a prize-winning poet – not surprisingly, his academic writing skills amazed her. Read more
Nobel Prize in Literature for Kazuo Ishiguro
Gesa Stedman comments on the surprising Nobel Prize in Literature winner Kazuo Ishiguro and her personal favourite, the early novel An Artist of the Floating World. With market-driven decision making in publishing, and many predictable moves – the next Girl on the Train, the next middlebrow multicultural feel-good story , […] Read more
Bloody Scotland
Last weekend, the wee Scottish city of Stirling tasted blood – and not for the first time. The crime festival Bloody Scotland took place for the sixth time since its inauguration in 2012 and drew a large crowd of authors and readers passionate about crime fiction (among them bloggers, booksellers, […] Read more
