Desmond Elliott Prize

History and administration

The Desmond Elliott Prize was inaugurated at the bequest of Desmond Elliott, who died in August 2003. He stipulated that his literary estate should be invested in a charitable trust that would fund a literary award "to enrich the careers of new writers". The prize was therefore dedicated to supporting and celebrating aspiring authors and their fiction.

The Desmond Elliott Prize was launched in 2007 as a biennial award for a first novel published in the UK. The inaugural prize was won by Nikita Lalwani for her novel, Gifted, in June 2008. After the successful launch of the prize, the trustees decided to make it an annual award. Edward Hogan won the prize in 2009 for his novel Blackmoor, Ali Shaw the 2010 prize for his novel The Girl with Glass Feet and Anjali Joseph in 2011 for her novel Saraswati Park.

The prize is administered by Emma Manderson and the trustees of The Desmond Elliott Charitable Trust, a UK charitable foundation. The Trust is chaired by Dallas Manderson, former Group Sales Director of the Orion Publishing Group. He is joined by Christine Berry, a partner in the charities group at Taylor Vinters, a Cambridge-based law firm, and Liz Thomson, an arts journalist and author. Both Dallas and Christine worked with Desmond Elliott at Arlington Books.

Judging

The panel of three judges, which changed each year, was selected by the trustees of the prize.

When selecting a winner, the judges looked for a novel with a compelling narrative, arresting character, and which was both vividly written and confidently realised.

Previous chairs of the prize include author Sam Llewellyn (2012), BBC broadcaster and presenter Edward Stourton (2011), and authors Elizabeth Buchan (2010), Candida Lycett Green (2009) and Penny Vincenzi (2008).

Rules and entry

The prize was awarded annually for the best first full-length work of fiction written in English published in book form in the UK, written by an author whose permanent place of residence was in the UK or Ireland. Entries were considered from all fiction genres.

The prize was selected from a longlist of 10 titles, followed by a shortlist of three outstanding books. For inclusion in this shortlist, a novel had to have the full support of at least one judge in whose opinion it is a valid contender for the Prize. Each shortlisted author received a hamper from Fortnum & Mason.

The winner of the Desmond Elliott Prize was announced at an awards ceremony held at Fortnum & Mason, Desmond Elliott's local grocer.

Transfer to National Centre for Writing

On 14 December 2019, the Desmond Elliott Charitable Trust was wound up, and its remaining funds were transferred to the National Centre for Writing. The Centre administered the Prize in the same way as previously, with awards made in 2020, 2021, and 2022. However, difficulties in finding sponsors for the Prize led to it being put on hold in 2022 until funding was available. In its place, the centre launched residencies for three debut fiction writers in 2023.

The Desmond Elliott residencies allowed the selected authors to spend a fully-funded week at the centre's residential cottage for visiting writers at Dragon Hall, Norwich. The selected authors, all of whom had published their first novel between 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023, were Santanu Bhattacharya, Carole Hailey, and Csilla Toldy. No further residencies have been announced since 2023. However, the Centre still promotes the Desmond Elliott Prize on its website as one of three Early Career Awards, alongside the UEA New Forms Award and the Laura Kinsella Fellowship.

Winners and shortlists

References

References

1. Richard Lea, [https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/jun/24/anjali-joseph-desmond-elliott-prize "Anjali Joseph wins Desmond Elliott prize"], ''The Guardian'', 24 June 2011.
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3. (25 May 2011). "'Overnight success' in line for Desmond Elliott prize". BBC News.
4. Katie Allen, [http://www.thebookseller.com/news/shukla-connolly-kelman-desmond-elliott-longlist.html "Shukla, Connolly, Kelman on Desmond Elliott longlist"], ''The Bookseller'', 19 April 2011.
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7. Katie Allen, [http://www.thebookseller.com/news/desmond-elliott-prize-goes-annual.html "Desmond Elliott Prize goes annual"], ''The Bookseller'', 23 June 2008.
8. (25 June 2009). "Leicester Square placard holder Edward Hogan becomes literary prize winner". The Telegraph.
9. Maggie Hartford, [http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/8241831.Desmond_Elliott_prize_for_novel_goes_to_former_Bodleian_employee/ "Desmond Elliott prize for novel goes to former Bodleian employee"], ''The Oxford Times'', 28 June 2010.
10. Anupama Krishnakumar, [http://www.sparkthemagazine.com/?p=2158 "Discovering Saraswati Park – An Interview with Anjali Joseph"], ''Spark Magazine'', 5 August 2011.
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16. (19 July 2022). "Desmond Elliott Prize paused for another year due to lack of sponsorship". The Bookseller.
17. (10 January 2023). "National Centre for Writing launches residencies for debut novelists". The Bookseller.
18. (6 June 2023). "Announcing the winners of the Desmond Elliott Residencies".
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22. (2010-05-24). "Awards: Desmond Elliott Shortlist; Theakstons Longlist".
23. (2012-06-29). "Award: Desmond Elliott Prize".
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27. (3 July 2014). "The 2014 Prize".
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30. (2015-07-02). "Awards: Desmond Elliott; CWA Daggers".
31. (2015-05-20). "Awards: Man Booker International; Wodehouse; Desmond Elliott".
32. Flood, Allison. (2016-06-22). "Lisa McInerney's 'astounding' debut novel wins Desmond Elliott prize".
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34. (2016-05-10). "Awards: British Book Industry; Ondaatje; Desmond Elliott; CrimeFest".
35. Natasha Onwuemezi, [http://www.thebookseller.com/news/golden-hill-wins-10k-desmond-elliott-prize-572301 "Golden Hill wins £10k Desmond Elliott Prize"], ''The Bookseller'', 21 June 2017.
36. (2017-06-26). "Awards: Desmond Elliott Winner".
37. (2017-05-12). "Awards: Desmond Elliott; Bread & Roses".
38. "Preti Taneja Wins 2018 Desmond Elliot Prize for "Awe-Inspiring" We That Are Young". Desmond Elliot Prize.
39. (2018-06-21). "Awards: Desmond Elliott Winner; Midwest Booksellers Choice Finalists".
40. (2018-05-08). "Awards: Desmond Elliott; Judith A. Markowitz".
41. (2019-06-20). "Awards: Desmond Elliott, Society of Authors Winners".
42. "Golden Child Claire Adam".
43. (2019-05-13). "Awards: Desmond Elliott Shortlist".
44. (2020-07-02). "Merky author Derek Owusu wins Desmond Elliott prize for 'profound' debut".
45. (2020-07-06). "Awards: Desmond Elliott Winner".
46. (2020-06-03). "Awards: Desmond Elliott Shortlist; IndieReader Discovery Winners".
47. "AK Blakemore wins Desmond Elliott prize for 'stunning' debut novel". Guardian News & Media Limited.
48. (2022-07-04). "Mortimer wins 2022 Desmond Elliott Prize".
49. (2022-06-08). "Awards: Desmond Elliott Shortlist".
50. (2022-06-07). "Desmond Elliott Prize 2022 shortlist announced".