Jefferson wins overall Rathbones Folio Prize for ‘magnificent’ Constructing a Nervous System

Pulitzer Prize-winning critic and author Margo Jefferson, novelist Michelle de Kretser and poet Victoria Adukwei Bulley have been awarded Rathbones Folio Prizes in the inaugural year of the new prize structure, with Jefferson taking home the overall prize. However the prize is now in search of a new sponsor, with Rathbones ending its support after seven years.

This year the Rathbones Folio Prize awarded winners across three categories: Fiction, Poetry and Non-Fiction, before a Book of the Year was chosen from the winners. Each category winner receives £2,000 and the Book of the Year Winner takes home an overall prize of £30,000. The refreshed format aims to “address the changing landscape of literary prizes, spotlight more authors, and offer readers and retailers a clearer, broader range of recommendations.”

Jefferson won the Non-fiction prize before going on to win the overall prize for Book of the Year for Constructing a Nervous System (Granta). Accepting the prize at the ceremony, held on Monday 27th March at the British Library in London, she spoke about how "lucky" she felt to be a non-fiction writer, joking, "it’s such a bland term, a cautious term...stuck saying what it’s not" but stressed "it holds worlds...past, present, future... so many ’heres’ to explore and so many ’elsewheres’".

The Sri Lankan-Australian novelist de Kretser won the Fiction prize for her novel Scary Monsters (Allen & Unwin) and Victoria Adukwei Bulley, described as “the rising star of British poetry”, was awarded the Poetry prize for her debut collection Quiet (Faber).

The Rathbones Folio Prize, known as the “writers’ prize”, is unique in being judged by writers. The Folio Academy of more than 300 writers collectively chooses a longlist, while this year’s shortlists were selected by three judges—novelist Ali Smith, poet Jackie Kay and author Guy Gunaratne.

Praising Constructing a Nervous System, the judges said: “What are we really made of? What forms us? This life force of a book is a brilliant blast of responsive energy, a shapeshifter between memoir, essay, critique, experiment, dialogue.

“Its subject is the porous and delicate process of the formation of identity up against societal and historical race and gender inequalities. It reveals how culture, art, thought, spirit, family, society, history – our life and times – make each of us, and crucially how, in turn, we make, remake and repurpose all these things. Life as a living art – this is a magnificent book, a joyous, moving, inventive and transformatory work.”

Adukwei Bulley’s Quiet was described as “a quiet revolution of a book – subtle, supple and serious, these poems look for a language, a language that can be shared, that embraces the inner and the outer worlds. Tender and true, complex and profound, Quiet is a beautiful balancing act of a book – a debut that brings Adukwei Bulley fully-formed, starting something!”

The judges said de Kretser’s Scary Monsters was “a work of beautifully composed genius, two consonant stories work to disorient and entangle, disarm and fascinate, all while implicating the reader’s private experience with those of the lives in the novel. This is a book that troubles and disquiets, dazzles and delights, and with lively wit and intelligence, will also make you laugh darkly.”

Commenting on Rathbones stepping down as sponsor, Andrew Kidd, co-founder and chair of the prize, said: “Ten years ago this month, we launched the Folio Prize, and we are grateful to the Folio Society for the key role it played in helping us achieve lift-off. But it is over the last seven years – in close partnership with our brilliant sponsor Rathbones – that the prize has really taken flight. Their support has enabled us to shine a light on the most outstanding books published each year – but also to nurture and encourage the young writers who will produce such books in years to come, through our celebrated Rathbones Folio Mentorships scheme with First Story.

"We cannot thank Rathbones enough for the generosity and steadfastness of their sponsorship, in what has proved a hugely fruitful and enjoyable collaboration. We continue to have great ambitions for the prize and its attendant initiatives. We are already in conversations with several potential sponsors – and remain open to starting new ones. The ‘Writers’ Prize’ is unmatched for its passion, integrity and inspiration it brings to everything it does, and there is now a fantastic opportunity for a new sponsor to join us in creating the exciting next chapter of its story.”

Rathbones Investment Management began sponsoring the prize in 2017. Its initial commitment of three years was extended by another three years, with a final year, its seventh, added for 2023.

Paul Stockton, Rathbones c.e.o, said: “We have enjoyed every year of developing the prize to succeed in nurturing new voices and bringing the best writing to the attention of the wider public. [Prize director] Minna [Fry]’s tireless energy and enthusiasm in connecting us with talented authors and recruiting extraordinary judges has now elevated the prize to something truly exceptional, and we’re proud of how it has developed. It has been a wonderful programme to be a part of, and we’re thankful to the Folio Academy Foundation for bringing us the opportunity as we now pass on the baton to a new sponsor.”