Today Gladstone’s Library has revealed the names of the 10 writers shortlisted for its prestigious Writers in Residence award for 2017.
Now into its sixth year, Gladstone’s Library’s successful Writers in Residence programme was established in association with Damian Barr (saloniere and author of Maggie and Me) to explore and define liberal values in the twenty-first century.
The shortlist is made up of novels, poetry and creative non-fiction that, in the eyes of the panel of judges of authors, industry experts and members of the Gladstone’s Library team, best represent some of the most creative contemporary writing.
This year’s submissions were drawn from a pool of entries from around the world. To qualify for consideration, all applicants had to submit a book published in the last three years as well as a short piece of writing on liberal values. The strength of both was taken into consideration by the judges when drawing up the shortlist.
The ten shortlisted titles for 2017 are:
- William Atkins, The Moor: A Journey into the English Wilderness (Faber & Faber, 2014)
- Elaine Beckett, ‘Faber New Poets 13’ (Faber & Faber, 2016)
- Penny Boxall, ‘Ship of the Line’ (Eyewear Publishing, 2014)
- Caroline Brothers, The Memory Stones (Bloomsbury Circus, 2016)
- Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, Harmless Like You (Sceptre, 2016)
- Nancy Campbell, Disko Bay (Enitharmon Press, 2015)
- Lauren Elkin, Flâneuse: Women Write the City (Chatto & Windus, 2016)
- Pippa Goldschmidt, The Need for Better Regulation of Outer Space (Freight Books, 2015)
- Antonia Honeywell, The Ship (Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 2015)
- Mab Jones, Take Your Experience and Peel it (Indigo Dreams, 2016)
- Jacqueline Saphra, If I Lay on my Back I Saw Nothing but Naked Women (The Emma Press, 2016)
- Ruth Scurr, John Aubrey: My Own Life (Vintage, 2015)
Four of these authors will now be awarded a month’s residency at Gladstone’s Library, a creative community that is open to the public and based in the world’s only residential library. Recent winners have included Amy Liptrot (The Outrun), Natasha Pulley (The Watchmaker of Filigree Street), Susan Barker (The Incarnations), Rebecca Farmer (‘Not Really’), Jessie Burton (The Miniaturist), Wendy Cope (Making Cocoa for Kingsley Amis), Salley Vickers (Miss Garnet’s Angel), Peter Moore (The Weather Experiment), Melissa Harrison (Rain) and Sarah Perry (The Essex Serpent).
Warden of Gladstone’s Library, Peter Francis, commented:
‘The Gladstone’s Library Writer in Residence programme continues to go from strength to strength. This is thanks, in part, to the support and generosity of our sponsors, in particular that of Joanna Munro, but also to the continual high standard of applicants. We are hugely proud that the programme continues to attract the very best in contemporary creative writing and are looking forward to revealing our four winners in October.’
This year’s judging panel consists of Senior Strategy Director at FutureBrand and Trustee of Gladstone’s Library, Freddie Baveystock; writer and journalist Peter Moore; author and journalist Melissa Harrison; poet Judy Brown; Peter Francis, Warden of Gladstone’s Library and Director of Collections and Research at Gladstone’s Library, Louisa Yates. Judging takes place on Friday, 5th August and the winners will be announced on Monday, 3rd October at the National Liberal Club in London when the four winning authors will read from their work.
Tickets for the Writers in Residence 2017 launch event are priced at £10. To register your interest, please call 01244 532350 or email [email protected]. Please note, the dress code for this event is smart – jacket and tie for men and no t-shirts or vests for women. No jeans will be permitted.