New literary prize to celebrate 'boldly original' fiction
24th January 2013 - 1:3pm
A new literary prize rewarding 'boldly original' fiction has been launched by Goldsmiths, University of London.
The GBP 10,000 Goldsmiths Prize, in association with the New Statesman, will be given to the book that 'opens up new possibilities of the novel form' and embodies the spirit of invention, organisers said.
For the inaugural prize, officially announced by Booker Prize-winning novelist James Kelman yesterday, any novel published in 2013 can be submitted, to be judged by novelists Nicola Barker and Gabriel Josipovici, New Statesman culture editor Jonathan Derbyshire and Goldsmiths' Dr Tim Parnell.
Derbyshire said: 'The New Statesman is delighted to be supporting a prize that rewards invention and innovation in fiction - qualities that the magazine has long promoted in its literary pages.'
Blake Morrison, poet, author and professor of creative and life writing at Goldsmiths, said: 'We hope it will encourage more risk-taking among novelists, editors and agents alike. There's an idea that innovative and genre-busting books are bound to be inaccessible. We don't believe that's the case.'
The Goldsmiths prize joins the new GBP 40,000 Literature Prize, which was announced last year. Endorsed by leading writers, the award is billed as the 'first major English language book prize to cross all borders', being open to writers from around the world.
The inaugural Literature Prize, for books published in 2013, will be awarded in March 2014.