Now in its third year, the prize is awarded to a remarkable, unpublished female writer over the age of 21, whose entry successfully combines literary merit with ‘unputdownability.’
The shortlist attracts interest from major publishing houses, and several former finalists are now published in their own right. Recent successes include Vicki Jarrett’s 2011 entry Nothing is Heavy published by Linen Press in 2012, and Sophia Tobin, whose 2011 entry, The Silversmith's Wife, is soon to be published as part of a two-book deal with Simon and Schuster. Kathryn Simmonds, shortlisted last year, is looking forward to the publication of Love and Fallout, by Seren Publishing in 2014.
This year’s shortlist of seven comprises
- Helen Bettinson
- Catherine Chanter
- Kerry Evans
- Lynn Fraser
- Alex Hourston
- Karen Ross
- Sarah Stewart
Titles are withheld to protect the blind judging process, but genres represented include historical fiction, psychological thrillers, comedy romance and literary fiction.
Allison Pearson said: "With over 240 entries this year, choosing a shortlist of seven has been incredibly difficult. It's astonishing and gratifying to think that there is so much unpublished talent out there. However, in the end, we managed to narrow it down and found seven wonderful finalists whose work spans sparkling social satire, historical intrigue and futuristic thrillers. It will be a challenge to pick a winner, but I'm confident that we will find a literary star of the future."
The winner will be announced at a dinner on Thursday, 30 May, attended by representatives from the publishing industry hoping to sign up the literary talents of the future.
- Lucy Cavendish is the only college in the country that admits only mature female students. The women who attend it have usually made a clear decision to transform their lives in some way. The College is particularly strong in Medicine and Veterinary Studies, Law, Engineering, and English. Our President, Professor Janet Todd OBE, is an internationally-renowned scholar of early women writers and author of many biographies and critical works.
Allison Pearson, bestselling novelist, newspaper columnist and commentator, and Dr Chloe Preedy, Cambridge University Lecturer in Renaissance Literature and Fellow of Lucy Cavendish College, will award this year's Lucy Cavendish College Fiction Prize.
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