The Prize for the New Novelist of the Year

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“The most prestigious award for first-time novelists” - Daily Telegraph

About the Prize

The Desmond Elliott Prize was founded to celebrate the best first novel by a new author and to support writers just starting what will be long and glittering careers. It has succeeded in its mission in a manner that would make Elliott proud.

In the years since its inception, it has managed to stand out from other prizes due to the quality of its selections, the prestige of its judges and its unusually focused shortlist—only three titles make it to that stage. With judges of the calibre of Geordie Grieg, Edward Stourton, Joanne Harris, Chris Cleave, Elizabeth Buchan and Viv Groskop, to name just a few, fantastic winners have been chosen year after year.

At the 2015 winner’s ceremony, Chair of Judges and best-selling author Louise Doughty passionately claimed that we must support our new authors “or we risk letting the next Hilary Mantel slip through our fingers.”

Every winner since the first in 2008 has gone on to be shortlisted for, and in many cases win, other high-profile literary awards, among them the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction, the Man Booker Prize and the Costa First Novel Award. In less than a decade, the words ‘Winner of the Desmond Elliott Prize’ have become synonymous with original, compelling writing by the most exciting new talents around.

About Desmond Elliott

In life, Desmond Elliott incurred the wrath of Dame Edith Sitwell and the love of innumerable authors and colleagues who regarded him as simply “the best”. Jilly Cooper, Sam Llewelyn, Penny Vincenzi, Leslie Thomas and Candida Lycett Green are among the writers forever in his debt. So, too, Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber: if Elliott had not introduced the aspirant lyricist and composer, the West End—and Broadway—would have been the poorer.

In death, Desmond Elliott continues to launch careers for he stipulated that the proceeds of his estate be invested in a charitable trust that would fund a literary award “to enrich the careers of new writers”, launching them on a path on which the footholds are now ever-more precarious. For the agent’s goal was always that his authors be relieved of financial worries, allowed to write in happy security. To that end, he played a dual role, believing that agents should be “Machiavelli and Elizabeth Arden rolled into one”. It served his authors well and continues to do so.

Elliott himself was “a dapper little elf”—five-foot-nothing, sporting Brooks Brothers’ boys’ wear—but a huge personality. His widowed mother could not afford to keep him so he was schooled at Dublin’s Royal Masonic Orphanage from where he was offered a scholarship to Trinity College. But Desmond was the classic young man in a hurry and, at 16, he boarded the ferry and crossed the Irish Sea with just £2 in his pocket.

He started his career in publishing “below stairs” at Macmillan in 1947. Discovered one morning reading the directors’ mail, he was obliged to leave and joined another family firm, Hutchinson, where he assisted with the adver-tising. A self-confessed “snotty little brat”, Elliott passed swiftly through the offices of every great London publisher of the day, causing a little light mischief en route. Then, in 1960, a £1,000 golden goodbye (“Pioneering as always, I was the first redundant publisher”) enabled him to strike out on his own.

A brilliant raconteur, who drank only champagne, he always crossed the Atlantic by Concorde and used Fortnum & Mason as his local grocer. His genius was spotting talent and then nurturing and promoting it.- Daily Express

Arlington Books operated out of one room in Duke Street Mayfair, a locale from which Desmond would never stray—other than to board Concord for New York. He made his first fortune with The Pocket Calorie Guide to Safe Slimming, which enjoyed 40 reprints. Then came a Barnardo’s Boy, Leslie Thomas, seeking a business manager. His best-selling memoir was followed by a best-selling novel which became a box-office smash: The Virgin Soldiers. Desmond Elliott was now both agent and publisher.

The rest is, indeed, history—history which continues to be made as each Desmond Elliott Prize-winner steps forth.

Described by Leo Cooper as “a brilliant though eccentric publisher, a consummate showman and a clever literary agent”, Desmond Elliott was a one-off, a man who took pleasure in business and whose business was his life.

Candida Lycett Green thought him “the best possible godfather or kind uncle”. With the Desmond Elliott Prize, he always will be.

By Liz Thomson

Our 2015 Winner

The 2015 shortlist was, arguably, the strongest in the prize’s history. Both Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey and A Song for Issy Bradley were shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, which the former won while the latter was named Best First Novel by the Authors’ Club.

The ultimate winner was Our Endless Numbered Days, by Claire Fuller—a true original, as all other winning titles have been. In haunting, beguiling prose the reader is drawn into the world of eight-year-old Peggy Fairfax, a child who has followed her father to, he assures her, the last safe place on Earth. As the years pass in their small wooden cabin, deep in a remote European forest, Peggy matures and begins to realise all is not right with her world.

Following its win, the book was catapulted to further success. It was selected for the Spring 2016 Richard and Judy Book Club, and was also chosen as a 2016 Waterstones Book Club Pick.

“A triumph” - The Times

“Extraordinary [...] Fuller writes with a singing simplicity that finds beauty amid the terror” - Sunday Times

“A debut novel that brings to mind such unlikely bedfellows as Thoreau’s Walden and Emma Donoghue’s Room...gripping.” - Guardian

Claire Fuller (second from left) with judges Viv Groskop, Louise Doughty, and Jonathan Ruppin.

Our Endless Numbered Days is both shocking and subtle, brilliant and beautiful, a poised and elegant work that recalls the early work of Ian McEwan in the delicacy of its prose and the way that this is combined with some very dark undertones.- Praise from Chair of Judges, Louise Doughty

Events

We host two receptions annually—first, a spring drinks party for the 10 long-listed authors, giving them a chance to meet each other, celebrate with their publishers and enjoy their moment in the spotlight. We are the only major prize to hold a party for its longlist, which is particularly appreciated by new authors. For many it marks the first time they step out as an author for their first literary accolade.

We then traditionally host a summer prize ceremony at Fortnum & Mason’s (renowned for its free-flowing champagne and excellent canapés) at which the winner is announced. The best and the brightest from publishing attend, as well as top literary journalists from the Guardian to the Financial Times and the BBC. At the 2015 ceremony, BBC Radio 4’s Front Row interviewed winner Claire Fuller live from the ceremony after her win.

Emma Healey, 2015 shortlisted author of Elizabeth is Missing

Jessie Burton, 2015 longlisted author of The Miniaturist

Nathan Filer and Kate Clanchy at the Festival du Premier Roman

We also work closely with the Festival du Premier Roman in Chambéry, France, for which two of our longlisted authors are selected to represent English writers at this international literary festival. In 2015 seven languages were represented in total and 2014 authors Nathan Filer and Kate Clanchy were the elected laureates in attendance.

Judges

2008

2009

2010

2011

Penny Vincenzi (Chair), Author

Candida Lycett Green (Chair), Author

Elizabeth Buchan (Chair), Author

Edward Stourton (Chair), Broadcaster and presenter of BBC Radio 4 Sunday programme (Previously Presenter for the BBC Radio 4 Today programme)

Geordie Greig, Editor of the Mail on Sunday (Formerly Editor for Tatler Magazine)

Suzi Feay, Journalist, Broadcaster, and Critic

William Skidelsky, Author and Journalist (Previously Books Editor for The Observer)

Fanny Blake, Journalist and Writer

Cristina Odone, Novelist, Journalist, and Broadcaster

Rodney Troubridge, Bookseller (Waterstones)

James Daunt, Founder of Daunt Books and Managing Director of Waterstones

Amy Worth, Director of Kindle Content at Amazon.co.uk

2012

2013

2014

2015

Sam Llewellyn (Chair), Novelist

Joanne Harris (Chair), Author

Chris Cleave (Chair), Author

Tom Gatti, Culture Editor at The New Statesman (Formerly Deputy Editor at The Times Saturday Review)

Robert Collins, Producer at Intelligence Squared (Formerly Deputy Editor at the Sunday Times)

Isabel Berwick, Assistant Features Editor at FTComment (Formerly Associate Editor at Financial Times)

Caroline Mileham, Merchandising Manager at Google Play (Formerly Head of Books at Play.com)

Miriam Robinson, Programme Director for The Bookseller Marketing & Publicity Conference (Formerly Head of Marketing at Foyles)

Patrick Neale, Bookseller (Jaffe & Neale), President of the Booksellers Association

Louise Doughty (Chair), Author Viv Groskop, Comedian and Columnist

Jonathan Ruppin, Web Editor (Foyles)

Past Winners of The Desmond Elliott Prize

The Desmond Elliott Prize has gained a reputation for its exceptionally keen talent-spotting. The past eight winning titles have received praise from all quarters, most going on to be listed for and winning other prestigious awards and valuable retailer promotions such as the Richard and Judy Book Club and Waterstones 11. All authors have carried on to write second, third or even fourth books, which is one of the key aims of the Prize−to nurture our country’s most promising literary careers.

2014

A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing by Eimear McBride (Faber/Galley Beggar Press)

Winner: 2014 Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction

Winner: 2014 Geoffrey Faber prize

Winner: 2013 Goldsmiths Prize

Winner: 2014 Kerry Group Irish Fiction Award

Shortlist: 2014 Folio Prize

McBride’s second novel, The Lesser Bohemians, is set to be

published in 2016.

“The kind of novel that is written once in a generation and takes the art to an entirely new place”- Chris Cleave, Chair of Judges

2013

The Marlowe Papers by Ros Barber (Sceptre)

Winner (joint): 2013 Authors’ Club First Novel Award

Longlisted: 2013 Women’s Prize for Fiction

Barber’s second novel, Devotion was published in 2015.

“It is as enticing as a top-flight thriller, with the welcome addition of gorgeous, evocative language as visual and concise as a screenplay” - Joanne Harris, Chair of Judges

2012

The Land of Decoration by Grace McCleen (Chatto & Windus)

Winner: 2013 Betty Trask Award

Shortlisted: 2012 National Book Awards

McCleen has since published two novels: The Professor of

Poetry in 2014 and The Offering in 2015, both with Sceptre.

“Grace McCleen’s voice sparkles with imagery and ideas, and she uses it to tell a story that is simultane-ously multi-layered and absolutely compelling” - Sam Llewellyn, Chair of Judges

2011

Saraswati Park by Anjali Joseph (Fourth Estate)

Winner: 2011 Betty Trask Prize

Winner (joint): 2010 Vodafone Crossword Book Award for Fiction

in India

Joseph’s second novel, Another Country (Fourth Estate), was

published in 2012 and a new novel, The Living, is due in 2016.

“It has that feeling that the characters are completely in-dependent of the author. They live with you after you’ve finished reading it, and that’s the mark of a real novelist” - Edward Stourton, Chair of Judges

2009

Blackmoor by Edward Hogan (Simon & Schuster)

Shortlisted: 2008 Dylan Thomas Prize

Shortlisted: 2009 Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year Award

Hogan’s second novel, The Hunger Trace, was published in 2011.

He also published two novels for young adults in 2013, Daylight

Savings and The Messengers.

“It is an extremely profound book for someone so young. What is special about it is the total originality of his prose and the lyricism of it. He uses metaphors which are completely unlike any I’ve ever read” - Candida Lycett Green, Chair of Judges

2010

The Girl with Glass Feet by Ali Shaw (Atlantic Books)

Shortlisted: 2009 Costa First Book Award

Longlisted: 2009 Guardian First book Award

Longlisted: 2010 Dylan Thomas Prize

Shaw’s second novel, The Man Who Rained, was published in 2012.

“This is an extraordinary first novel—bold, original, tragic and endlessly surprising. In its exploration of frozen landscapes, both interior and exterior, and in its precisely detailed and articulated fantasy, it is possible to see a substantial author of the future” - Elizabeth Buchan, Chair of Judges

2008

Gifted by Nikita Lalwani (Viking)

Shortlisted: 2007 Costa First Novel Award

Longlisted: 2007 Man Booker Prize

Lalwani’s second novel, The Village was published in 2012.

“Gifted is a book of extraordinary range; it is touching, tender, funny and at the same time truly compelling” - Penny Vincenzi, Chair of Judges

Prize Longlists

2008

Gifted by Nikita Lalwani (Viking)Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith (Simon & Schuster) - Shortlisted

Sunday at the Cross Bones by John Walsh (Fourth Estate) - Shortlisted

Broken by Daniel Clay (HarperPress)

Kill Your Friends by John Niven (William Heinemann)

The Messenger of Athens by Anne Zouroudi (Bloomsbury)

The Outcast by Sadie Jones (Chatto & Windus)

Random Acts of Heroic Love by Danny Scheinmann (Doubleday)

The Truth About These Strange Times by Adam Foulds (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)

Submarine by Joe Dunthorne (Hamish Hamilton)

Gods Behaving Badly by Marie Phillips (Vintage)

2009

Blackmoor by Edward Hogan (Simon & Schuster)A Girl Made of Dust by Nathalie Abi-Ezzi (Fourth Estate) - Shortlisted

The Rescue Man by Anthony Quinn (Jonathan Cape) - Shortlisted

The Behaviour of Moths by Poppy Adams (Virago)

Girl in a Blue Dress by Gaynor Arnold (Tindal Street Press)

Mr Toppit by Charles Elton (Viking)

Never Never by David Gaffney (Tindal Street Press)

The Redemption of Alexander Seaton by Shona MacLean (Quercus)

Little Gods by Anna Richards (Picador)

The Alternative Hero by Tim Thornton (Jonathan Cape)

2010

The Girl with Glass Feet by Ali Shaw (Atlantic Books)Before the Earthquake by Maria Allen (Tindal Street Press) - Shortlisted

Talk of the Town by Jacob Polley (Picador) - Shortlisted

The Upright Piano Player by David Abbott (MacLehose Press)

The Hungry Ghosts by Anne Berry (Blue Door)

Rupture by Simon Lelic (Picador)

The Shadow of a Smile by Kachi A. Ozumba (Alma Books)

The Breaking of Eggs by Jim Powell (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)

Designs for a Happy Home by Matthew Reynolds (Bloomsbury)

Beauty by Raphael Selbourne (Tindal Street Press)

2011

Saraswati Park by Anjali Joseph (Fourth Estate)Boxer, Beetle by Ned Beauman (Sceptre) - Shortlisted

Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman (Bloomsbury) - Shortlisted

The Afterparty by Leo Benidictus (Jonathan Cape)

Coconut Unlimited by Nikesh Shukla (Quartet)

The Collaborator by Mirza Waheed (Viking)

Pub Walks in Underhill Country by Nat Segnit (Fig Tree)

The Spider Truces by Tom Connolly (Myriad Editions)

A Vision of Loveliness by Louise Levene (Bloomsbury)

Who is Mr Satoshi? by Jonathan Lee (William Heinemann)

2014

A Girl Is a Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride (Faber/Galley Beggar Press)The Letter Bearer by Robert Allison (Granta) - Shortlisted

Ballistics by D. W. Wilson (Bloomsbury) - Shortlisted

Idiopathy by Sam Byers (Fourth Estate)

Meeting the English by Kate Clanchy (Picador)

The Shock of the Fall by Nathan Filer (HarperCollins)

Sedition by Katherine Grant (Virago)

The Dynamite Room by Jason Hewitt (Simon & Schuster)

The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan (Doubleday Ireland)

Marriage Material by Sathnam Sanghera (William Heinemann)

2015

Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller (Fig Tree)Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey (Viking) - Shortlisted

A Song for Issy Bradley by Carys Bray (Hutchinson) - Shortlisted

The A to Z of You and Me by James Hannah (Doubleday)

The Bees by Laline Paull (Fourth Estate)

Chop Chop by Simon Wroe (Viking)

Glass by Alex Christofi (Serpent’s Tail)

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton (Picador)

Randall by Jonathan Gibbs (Galley Beggar Press)

The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth (Unbound)

2012

The Land Of Decoration by Grace McCleen (Chatto & Windus)The Last Hundred Days by Patrick McGuinness (Seren) - Shortlisted

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce (Doubleday) - Shortlisted

Absolution by Patrick Flanery (Atlantic Books)

Bed by David Whitehouse (Canongate)

Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson (Doubleday)

The Bellwether Revivals by Benjamin Wood (Simon & Schuster)

Care Of Wooden Floors by Will Wiles (HarperPress)

The Missing Shade of Blue by Jennie Erdal (Little, Brown)

The Spider King’s Daughter by Chibundu Onuzo (Faber & Faber)

2013

The Marlowe Papers by Ros Barber (Sceptre) The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence (Hodder & Stoughton) - Shortlisted

The Panopticon by Jenni Fagan (William Heinemann) - Shortlisted

The Palace of Curiosities by Rosie Garland (Harper Fiction)

Petite Mort by Beatrice Hitchman (Serpent’s Tail)

The Fields by Kevin Maher (Little, Brown)

Signs of Life by Anna Raverat (Picador)

Seldom Seen by Sarah Ridgard (Hutchinson)

Jammy Dodger by Kevin Smith (Sandstone Press)

The Painted Bridge by Wendy Wallace (Simon & Schuster)

The Desmond Elliott Charitable Trust is a charity registered with the Charity Commission (registered charity number 01115496). Its Trustees are Dallas Manderson (Chairman); Elizabeth Thomson and Christine Berry. The registered office of the Desmond Elliott Charitable Trust is c/o Taylor Vinters LLP, Merlin Place, Cambridge CB4 0DP

For prize administration queries, please contact Literary Director Emma Manderson: emma.manderson@desmondelliottprize.org

For press queries, please contact Riot Communications: info@riotcommunications.com / 020 3174 0118