Roffey's Peepal Tree tale wins Costa Book of the Year

Monique Roffey has won the £30,000 Costa Book of the Year award for her “utterly original” sixth novel, The Mermaid of Black Conch: A Love Story, published by independent Peepal Tree Press.

Roffey was named this year's winner at a virtual awards ceremony on 26th January hosted by broadcaster Penny Smith.

The award is both a triumph for Roffey, who saw the novel turned down by the big publishers and who crowdfunded a PR campaign for her book, as well as for Leeds-based Peepal Tree, whose founder Jeremy Poynting said the firm has now ordered another 20,000 copies to be printed.

Chair of judges Professor Suzannah Lipscomb said the panel had debated for three hours before picking the novel, a dark love story between a fisherman and a mermaid torn from the sea.

She said: “The Mermaid of Black Conch is an extraordinary, beautifully written, captivating, visceral book - full of mythic energy and unforgettable characters, including some tremendously transgressive women.”

Lipscomb added: “It is utterly original—unlike anything we’ve ever read—and feels like a classic in the making from a writer at the height of her powers. It’s a book that will take you to the furthest reaches of your imagination. We found it completely compelling.”

Roffey commented: “I’m delighted with this win. The Costa Book of the Year boasts an impressive lineage of contemporary writers, and I'm proud to be the latest addition to this list. This prestigious prize is a vote for so many things: Caribbean literature, experimental form, magical realism, independent presses, and of course, mermaids. A huge thank you to the judges for exposing my book to a wide readership. I’ll be pinching myself for weeks to come.”

Based on a Taino legend of a beautiful woman transformed into a mermaid, the novel is set in 1976 in a tiny village on the Caribbean island of Black Conch. David, a fisherman, sings to himself in his pirogue, waiting for a catch and attracts a sea-dweller he doesn’t expect—Aycayia, a beautiful young woman cursed by jealous wives to live as a mermaid, who has been swimming the Caribbean Sea for centuries.

Roffey is a Trinidadian-born, British writer and also a senior lecturer in creative writing at Manchester Metropolitan University. She told The Bookseller the win was “momentous” and the book had struck a chord because it dealt with love against the odds and “we need love right now”.

She said of her win: “More than anything it's a big boost for the book. For me it's watching something very niche and complicated and in the margins make a big leap out there into a mainstream readership, which is like a miracle.”

Roffey said: “None of the big publishers wanted to publish it, none of the mainstream ones, because it's not written in standard English and it experiments with form and it's magical so maybe there were too many things that were too crazy about the book for the mainstream publishers. But Peepal Tree are the right people. Jeremy Poynting is one of our greatest living Caribbean editors so he really understood the book and I was very happy to go with Peepal Tree.”

In what is thought to be the first author campaign of its kind, in 2019 Roffey launched her own crowdfunding campaign for PR to promote the book, raising £4,500. She said: “I knew the book had the right publisher but indie presses don't have the same budgets or resources so while Peepal Tree do have social media support for their books and obviously send them out, I just wanted to do everything I could for the book.”

She added: “I really would strongly recommend other writers to do it, there's no shame in it, especially anybody who's with an indie press. It did help and the help is ongoing. I also think every book needs its writer behind it and a writer whose prepared to bat for the book and be there for it.”

Despite her plans, with the novel released on 2nd April right at the start of the pandemic, she feared it may fall into a “chasm”.

“Nobody really wanted to hear about mermaids in April or May really so it's had a really bumpy birth,” she said. “Then things settled down a bit.”

Poynting said 10,000 copies had already been printed of the book, which also made the Goldsmith Prize shortlist last year and has been longlisted for the 2021 Rathbones Folio Prize, since its release, with 20,000 more on the way.

He said: “I think it's really good to see small independent presses recognised. That's a sign that we're doing something right and the world is noticing. I think she [Roffey] just thought we were the right press to handle this particular book. It's both a very Caribbean book but also a book which, obviously in terms of the kinds of comments its picking up, is speaking beyond the region because of the themes and striking story it has. It's really crossed over in a way that perhaps other excellent books we've done in the past haven't in quite the same way.”

Poynting said other publishers were interested in rights and editions going forward, though his press was putting as many resources as it could to support the novel while balancing its 2021 publishing programme. He explained: “There's the difficulty that you just don't know at this point and in these circumstances with Covid and bookshops still shut and so on, what the potential sales could be and at some level whether they exceed our capacity to handle them in the best interests of the author.”

This year's judging panel also featured TV and radio presenter Angellica Bell, writer Horatio Clare, novelist Jill Dawson, author Sadie Jones, poet Zaffar Kunial, writer Patrice Lawrence, actor Stephen Mangan and presenter and vlogger Simon Savidge.

Roffey saw off a shortlist featuring the bookies' favourite, social entrepreneur Lee Lawrence for his debut work, a memoir, The Louder I Will Sing: A Story of Racism, Riots and Redemption; writer, artist and academic, Ingrid Persaud for her first novel, Love After Love; the late Irish poet Eavan Boland, posthumously nominated for her final collection, The Historians; and children’s author Natasha Farrant for her twelfth book, Voyage of the Sparrowhawk.

Also announced on the night was the winner of this year's £3,500 Short Story Award, taken by Tessa Sheridan for “The Person Who Serves, Serves Again” following a public vote. Two runners-up - Irish writer Laura-Blaise McDowell from Dublin and Louise Dean, a writer and founder of The Novelry, from Kent - received £1,000 and £500 respectively.