Cassava Republic title shortlisted for Goldsmiths Prize

Books from Jonathan Cape and Faber and Faber, as well as new African literature publisher Cassava Republic, are on the shortlist for this year’s Goldsmiths Prize, run by Goldsmiths University in association with the New Statesman.

Cassava Republic, which launched last year, publishes Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun by Sarah Ladipo Manyika. Faber is the publisher of The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride, who won the first Goldsmiths Prize in 2013, whilst Jonathan Cape is responsible for Transit by Rachel Cusk.

Also on the shortlist are Solar Bones by Mike McCormack (Tramp Press), Hot Milk by Deborah Levy (Hamish Hamilton), and Martin John by Anakana Schofield (And Other Stories).

The judges, chaired by professor Blake Morrison, received 111 submissions for the prize, which is for “embodying the spirit of invention that characterises the novel genre at its best”.

Morrison said: “Innovative novels used to suffer from the stigma of ‘difficulty’ but one thing we’ve learned since the Goldsmiths Prize was launched four years ago is what a large and responsive readership they reach.

“Narrowed down from an entry of 111 titles, it’s a list the judges arrived at without rancour or compromise, and one that demonstrates the healthy state of British and Irish fiction today.”

The winner of the £10,000 prize will be announced at a ceremony at Foyles in central London on 9th November.