Twelve remarkable books will fight it out in the race for this year’s HWA Goldsboro Debut Crown award.
Titles including The Hourglass Factory by Lucy Ribchester, Belonging by Umi Sinha, Cleopatra’s Shadows by Emily Holleman, Death and Mr Pickwick by Stephen Jarvis, Eden Gardens by Louise Brown, The Hoarse Oaths of Fife by Chris Moore, The Looking Glass House by Vanessa Tait, Mrs Engels by Gavin McCrea, Rembrandt’s Mirror by Kit Devereux, Summertime by Vanessa Lafaye, The Want of Kindness by Joanne Limburg and Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekbäck have been nominated.
The Historical Writers’ Association unveiled their 2016 longlist ahead of this year’s History in the Court event on 30th June, where the judges will announce the titles that have made it onto the shortlist. The HWA Goldsboro Debut Crown will be presented to the winning author at the Harrogate International Festivals’ 2016 Harrogate History Festival, during the gala opening party on Friday 21st October.
“This year’s HWA Goldsboro Debut Crown long list reflects the strength and variety of the entries we received,” says chair of judges, Andrew Taylor. “It also demonstrates that historical fiction in the UK is flourishing as never before.”
This coveted award is presented to the book judged to be the best debut in historical fiction and comes with a £1,000 prize. The 2015 winner was Ben Fergusson’s novel The Spring of Kasper Meier.
“Our long list proves these are exciting times for fans of historical fiction,” says HWA chair Imogen Robertson. “These exciting new voices are demonstrating the strength of the genre and the range of superb storytelling it embraces.”
The HWA Goldsboro Debut Crown Longlist in full:
The Hourglass Factory by Lucy Ribchester, published by Simon & Schuster
Belonging by Umi Sinha, published by Myriad
Cleopatra’s Shadows by Emily Holleman, published by Little, Brown
Death and Mr Pickwick by Stephen Jarvis, published by Jonathan Cape
Eden Gardens by Louise Brown, published by Headline
The Hoarse Oaths of Fife by Chris Moore, published by Uniform Press
The Looking Glass House by Vanessa Tait, published by Atlantic
Mrs Engels by Gavin McCrea, published by Scribe
Rembrandt’s Mirror by Kit Devereux, published by Atlantic
Summertime by Vanessa Lafaye, published by Orion
A Want of Kindness by Joanne Limburg, published by Atlantic
Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekbäck, published by Hodder
For further information, please contact Kate White, press officer for the Historical Writers’ Association at kate@frontpagemediauk.co.uk or on 07814791775.
