Two experimental novels have jointly won the Queen Mary small press fiction prize, formerly known as the Republic of Consciousness prize.<\/p>\n
Figures Crossing the Field Towards the Group by Rebecca Gransden, published by Tangerine Press, and Ghost Driver by Nell Osborne, published by Moist Books, were announced as this year\u2019s winners during a ceremony held at Queen Mary University, London, on Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes it\u2019s clear the judges can\u2019t choose between two books, and literary prizes aren\u2019t races,\u201d said prize founder Neil Griffiths. \u201cWhen two cross the line together, we don\u2019t use technology to measure in hundredths of a second \u2013 they both win.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gransden\u2019s novella is about a character\u2019s travels in a post-apocalyptic land. The reader goes \u201con a seismic journey with a young woman through a society demolished, where bodies rot, and geology has erupted,\u201d said judge and writer Susanna Crossman, describing the book as a \u201cmesmerising dystopian novel\u201d.<\/p>\n
Nell Osborne, left, and Rebecca Gransden. Photograph: (awaiting credits)<\/p>\n
Osborne\u2019s novel, meanwhile, follows the life of a woman named Malory. \u201cThe familiar becomes unfamiliar as Malory navigates, with creeping horror, office politics, body dysmorphia, drunk nights, relationships and a giant fly,\u201d said Crossman. The book is a \u201cshape-shifting gem powered by an effortlessly hip voice that crackles with restless energy\u201d, said judge and writer Stu Hennigan.<\/p>\n
The two writers win a five-day writing retreat. All longlisted presses are awarded \u00a3500. At the shortlist stage, each title receives an additional \u00a31,000, with 70% going to the publisher and 30% to the author. Shortlisted along with the winners were Darryl by Jackie Ess (Divided Publishing), The First Jasmines by Saima Begum (Hajar Press), and Spit by David Brennan (\u00e9poque press).<\/p>\n
This year marks 10 years of the prize. Previous winners include Counternarratives by John Keene (Fitzcarraldo Editions) and Attrib. and other stories<\/a> by Eley Williams (Influx Press). Last year\u2019s winner<\/a> was There\u2019s a Monster Behind the Door by Ga\u00eblle B\u00e9lem, translated from French by Karen Fleetwood and La\u00ebtitia Saint-Loubert and published by Bullaun Press.<\/p>\n Alongside Crossman and Hennigan on this year\u2019s judging panel was the writer Marina Benjamin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two experimental novels have jointly won the Queen Mary small press fiction prize, formerly known as the Republic…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":177131,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-177130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177130","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=177130"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/177130\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/177131"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=177130"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=177130"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=177130"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}