Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize

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The Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize
Awarded forExceptional first novels
Date25 July 2024
CountryUnited Kingdom
Presented by Waterstones
First awarded2022;2 years ago (2022)
Website www.waterstones.com/category/cultural-highlights/book-awards/the-waterstones-debut-fiction-prize

The Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, established in 2022, [1] is an annual literary award presented by British bookseller Waterstones to the best debut fiction published in the previous 12 months. The award is intended to "celebrate[] the very best fresh voices in fiction and share[] the joy and magic of discovering new authors." [1] Fictional books of all genres are considered, "including genre fiction such as crime, sci-fi and fantasy as well as fiction in translation." [2] [3]

Award winners receive £5,000 [3] and "the backing of all Waterstones shops." [2]

Recipients

Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize winners and finalists
YearAuthorTitleResultRef.
2022 Tess Gunty The Rabbit Hutch Winner [4]
Sequoia Nagamatsu How High We Go in the Dark Shortlist [5] [6] [7]
Eloghosa Osunde Vagabonds!
Tara M. Stringfellow Memphis
Bonnie Garmus Lessons in Chemistry
Louise Kennedy Trespasses
2023 Alice Winn In Memoriam Winner [8]
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah Chain-Gang All-StarsShortlist [9]
Jacqueline Crooks Fire Rush
Michael Magee Close to Home
Cecile Pin Wandering Souls
Colin Walsh Kala
2024 Kaveh Akbar Martyr! Shortlist [10] [11] [12]
Kaliane Bradley The Ministry of Time
Josie Ferguson The Silence in Between
Hanako Footman Mongrel
Ferdia Lennon Glorious Exploits
Rebecca K Reilly Greta and Valdin

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References

  1. 1 2 Orhanen, Anna (21 July 2022). "Why Debuts Matter: Bea Carvalho on the Ethos Behind the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize". Waterstones. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  2. 1 2 Bayley, Sian (4 April 2022). "Waterstones launches £5,000 debut fiction prize". The Bookseller. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize". Locus Online. 5 April 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  4. Zodgekar, Yash; Niva, Yadav (25 August 2022). "Tess Gunty's 'fiercely original' The Rabbit Hutch wins inaugural Waterstones debut fiction prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  5. "Awards: Waterstones Debut Fiction Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. 22 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  6. Doyle, Martin (21 July 2022). "Louise Kennedy on Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize shortlist; Margaret Atwood at Clifden festival". The Irish Times. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  7. Shaffi, Sarah (20 July 2022). "Shortlist announced for Waterstones debut fiction prize". the Guardian. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  8. "Alice Winn wins 2023 Waterstones debut fiction prize for In Memoriam". The Guardian. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  9. "Waterstones debut fiction prize shortlist announced". Books+Publishing. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  10. Cooper-Fiske, Casey (18 June 2024). "'Eye-opening' time travel story shortlisted for debut fiction prize". Evening Standard. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  11. Waterstones (10 June 2024). Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize 2024 Shortlist . Retrieved 19 June 2024 via YouTube.
  12. "'Eye-opening' time travel story shortlisted for debut fiction prize". www.corklive.ie. 18 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.