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Rozie Kelly wins £5k NorthBound Book Award
Rozie Kelly has been announced as the winner of the £5,000 NorthBound Book Award for her manuscript Kingfisher, which will be published by Saraband as part of the prize.
The awards celebration took place at the University of York on Wednesday evening (10th April).
The NorthBound Book Award is produced by New Writing North in partnership with the University of York and independent publisher Saraband, as part of the Northern Writers’ Awards. The award was created in 2019 to celebrate the innovative spirit of independent publishing and the richness of writing from the North of England.
Each organisation offers a unique element of support to the prize winner, including publication with Saraband, a package of support from New Writing North, a £5,000 advance on royalties, support from the University of York and an invitation to include the work in the Writing at York series.
This year’s judges of the NorthBound Book Award were Maya Caspari, lecturer in English and the Creative Industries at University of York; Sara Hunt, publisher at Saraband; previous winner Adam Farrer; and author Shaun Wilson.
Kelly, who is based in West Yorkshire, said: “I have always dreamed of finding a home for this strange little book, and felt so attached to the characters, so I couldn’t be happier to know that Kingfisher will be made reality with Saraband. Winning the NorthBound Award is such a gift, and feels like the beginning of something very exciting.”
Caspari said: “This year’s brilliant winner, Kingfisher by Rozie Kelly, stood out for its strikingly original voice and its compelling exploration of the intricacies of love, care and power in human relationships.”
Sara Hunt, publisher at Saraband, said: “We’re delighted to be working with Rozie Kelly on the publication of her début novel, Kingfisher, a very worthy winner of this award. Rozie is an exciting new talent and her novel is original, startling, beautifully written and often darkly funny, with unforgettable characters.”
