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Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize

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The Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize
Awarded forExceptional first novels
Date25 July 2024
CountryUnited Kingdom
Presented byWaterstones
First awarded2022; 2 years ago (2022)
Websitewww.waterstones.com/category/cultural-highlights/book-awards/the-waterstones-debut-fiction-prize

The Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, established in 2022,[1] is an annual literary award presented by British bookseller Waterstones to the best debut fiction published in the previous 12 months. The award is intended to "celebrate[] the very best fresh voices in fiction and share[] the joy and magic of discovering new authors."[1] Fictional books of all genres are considered, "including genre fiction such as crime, sci-fi and fantasy as well as fiction in translation."[2][3]

Award winners receive £5,000[3] and "the backing of all Waterstones shops."[2]

Recipients

[edit]
Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize winners and finalists
Year Author Title Result Ref.
2022 Tess Gunty The Rabbit Hutch Winner [4]
Bonnie Garmus Lessons in Chemistry Shortlist [5][6][7]
Louise Kennedy Trespasses
Sequoia Nagamatsu How High We Go in the Dark
Eloghosa Osunde Vagabonds!
Tara M. Stringfellow Memphis
2023 Alice Winn In Memoriam Winner [8]
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah Chain-Gang All-Stars Shortlist [9]
Jacqueline Crooks Fire Rush
Michael Magee Close to Home
Cecile Pin Wandering Souls
Colin Walsh Kala
2024 Ferdia Lennon Glorious Exploits Winner [10][11]
Kaveh Akbar Martyr! Shortlist [12][13][14]
Kaliane Bradley The Ministry of Time
Josie Ferguson The Silence in Between
Hanako Footman Mongrel
Rebecca K Reilly Greta and Valdin

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Orhanen, Anna (21 July 2022). "Why Debuts Matter: Bea Carvalho on the Ethos Behind the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize". Waterstones. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b Bayley, Sian (4 April 2022). "Waterstones launches £5,000 debut fiction prize". The Bookseller. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize". Locus Online. 5 April 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  4. ^ Zodgekar, Yash; Niva, Yadav (25 August 2022). "Tess Gunty's 'fiercely original' The Rabbit Hutch wins inaugural Waterstones debut fiction prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  5. ^ "Awards: Waterstones Debut Fiction Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. 22 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  6. ^ Doyle, Martin (21 July 2022). "Louise Kennedy on Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize shortlist; Margaret Atwood at Clifden festival". The Irish Times. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  7. ^ Shaffi, Sarah (20 July 2022). "Shortlist announced for Waterstones debut fiction prize". the Guardian. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  8. ^ "Alice Winn wins 2023 Waterstones debut fiction prize for In Memoriam". The Guardian. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Waterstones debut fiction prize shortlist announced". Books+Publishing. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  10. ^ "The Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize Winner 2024". Waterstones. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  11. ^ Skyring, Sophie (3 August 2024). "Norwich's Ferdia Lennon wins Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize". Norwich Evening News. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  12. ^ Cooper-Fiske, Casey (18 June 2024). "'Eye-opening' time travel story shortlisted for debut fiction prize". Evening Standard. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  13. ^ Waterstones (10 June 2024). Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize 2024 Shortlist. Retrieved 19 June 2024 – via YouTube.
  14. ^ "'Eye-opening' time travel story shortlisted for debut fiction prize". www.corklive.ie. 18 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.