PRH lands two on Writers' Guild shortlist

Penguin Random House has scored two out of the three shortlisted titles for best first novel from the Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards.

Towards Mellbreak (Chatto & Windus) by Marie Elsa-Bragg, set in the Cumbrian landscape, and Montpelier Parade by Karl Geary (Vintage), about secrets between lovers, are both nominated for the category, along with a tale of a homecoming to India, The Bureau of Second Chances by Sheena Kalayil, published by Polygon, an imprint of Scottish indie Birlinn.

The shortlist for the guild features 14 categories altogether as well as a special award for outstanding contribution to writing. The prize's lead sponsor is Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society with other sponsors including the BBC, ITV, Company Pictures and Nick Hern Books, with the winners to be announced on 15th January at the Royal College of Physicians in central London.

Jed Mercurio got the nod in the Best Long Form TV Drama for “Line of Duty” series 4, alongside Roger Williams for “Bang”, episode 1 and the writers of “Taboo”: Chips Hardy, Steven Knight, Ben Hervey and Emily Ballou.

Sarah Phelps’ “The Witness for the Prosecution” is shortlisted for Best Short Form TV Drama alongside “Three Girls” by Nicole Taylor and “Waiting for Andre” by Neil Forsyth.

For Best Long Running TV Series, Damon Alexis-Rochefort is up for “Coronation Street” episode 9251 while Maxine Alderton is in the running for her writing of “Emmerdale”, “Inside the Mind of Dementia”. Peter Mattessi is also shortlisted for “Holby City”, series 19, episode 2 “Rocket Man”.

Members of “The League of Gentlemen” Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith are nominated for “Inside No.9: The Bill” in the Best TV Situation Comedy, up against Simon Blackwell’s “Back” as well as Daisy May Cooper and Charlie Cooper who are shortlisted for “This Country”.

In the Best Children’s TV Episode section, “Counterfeit Cat: Room of Panic” by Tim Bain is shortlisted alondside “Counterfeit Cat: Sardonians of the Galaxy” by Ciaran Murtagh and Andrew Jones and “The Worst Witch: The Mists of Time” by Nick Leather.

Ben Lewis’ “Romance Is Dead” is tipped for Best Radio Drama as is “The Things We Never Said” by Ming Ho, “Blood, Sex and Money” by Emile Zola, “season 3 of Money: Reap” by Lavinia Murray.

In the Best Radio Comedy shortlist Sarah Kendall is up for “Australian Trilogy: A Day In October” alongside “John Finnemore’s Double Acts, series 2, episode 4: Penguin Diplomacy” by John Finnemore. “Kevin Eldon Will See You Now, series 3, episode 1: Tarquin and the Tiny Studio” is also tipped and the writers include Kevin Eldon, Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris.

Battlefield 1 is shortlisted for Best Writing in a Video Game and its writers include Steven Hall, Zachary Betka, Mark Bristol, Matt Gibbs, Justin Villiers, Andrew Robertshaw and Steven Bigras. Hellblade:  Senua's Sacrifice by Tameem Antoniades is also in the running alongside Subsurface Circular by Mike Bithell.

For Best Screenplay “Miss Sloane” by Jonathan Perera is shortlisted along with “Their Finest” by Gaby Chiappe and “The Olive Tree” by Paul Laverty.

Francis Lee’s “God’s Own Country” is up for Best First Screenplay along with “Jawbone” by Johnny Harris and Under the Shadow by Babak Anvari.

“The Ferryman” by Jez Butterworth is up for Best Play pitted alongside “Barber Shop Chronicles” by Inua Ellams and “The Children” by Lucy Kirkwood.

In the Best Play for Young Audiences, “How To Be A Kid” by Sarah McDonald-Hughes is featured along with “The Host” by Nessah Muthy and “The Messenger” by Mike Kenny.

“Showreel for One Word or Less Parts” by Marek Larwood is shortlisted for Best Online Comedy along with “Meet the city boys secretly voting for Corbyn!” by Gabriel Bisset-Smith and “A Hard Brexit” by Barney Fishwick and Will Hislop.

Olivia Hetreed, WGGB president, said she was “enormously pleased and proud” of the shortlists. “They represent the best of British writing by the best writers across the full range of dramatic and comic writing. And they are all selected by working writers in their own field," she said. "It is that judgement by your peers that makes these Awards unique and uniquely special to the winners.”

The Writers' Guild is a trade union representing writers for TV, film, theatre, radio, books, poetry, animation and videogames.