The Desmond Elliot Prize is considered to be the UK’s most prestigious award for first time novelists and today the 2018 shortlist is announced.
This year the shortlist explores the impact of social isolation and the importance of human relationships, an apt subject in these times. The novels on the shortlist have been chosen because they are “distinguished by a striking and vivid narrative voice, a gift for storytelling, and a wise and humane gaze” according to the judged.
We know how our readers love their shortlists, so here’s the Desmond Elliot Prize 2018 for new fiction shortlist:
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine – Gail Honeyman
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine is on its ninth consecutive week at the top of the eBook chart in the UK and has already won the 2017 Costa First Novel Award, and been longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. The book follows the story of the eccentric and isolated Eleanor, the titular character as she is forced out of her comfort zone and has to come to terms with her past.
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (US)
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (UK)
We That Are Young – Preti Taneja
We That Are Young is an ambitious retelling of King Lear, exploring the play’s themes of severed relationships and warring families within modern-day India. This is the book’s second shortlisting for a literary award and is likely to be one of the bestsellers of the year.
How to Be Human – Paula Cocozza
How to be Human is a fairytale of sorts, telling the story of Mary, a young woman who increasingly shuns human interaction in favour of a curious relationship with a fox. Cocozza, a feature writer for the Guardian wrote the novel whilst completing an MA in creative writing at the University of Easy Anglia where she was awarded the David Higham Award.
So that’s the shortlist and this yea all the shortlisted titles share a preoccupation with the impact of social isolation and withdrawing from relationships with family, friends and colleagues. The winner will be announced at a ceremony at Fortnum & Mason on 20th June where the winner will receive a cheque for £10,000.
