Two for And Other Stories on Desmond Elliott longlist

Sheffield-based indie And Other Stories has two titles on the longlist for this year’s £10,000 Desmond Elliott Prize, awarded to the most outstanding novel of the past 12 months: Mona Arshi’s Somebody Loves You, a tale of how we choose or refuse to tell the stories that shape us, and Tice Cin’s story of London’s heroin trade, Keeping the House.

Meanwhile, the first title for Francesca Main’s Phoenix imprint, Emily Itami’s Fault Lines, a story of rediscovering freedom after a monotonous marriage, is also in contention for the award.

Also longlisted are Natasha Brown’s Assembly (Hamish Hamilton), telling of a Black British woman questioning her own narrative; Luke Cassidy’s Iron Annie (Bloomsbury), the story of a magnetic attraction that becomes an obsession; Elizabeth Chakrabarty’s story of love and racial victimisation, Lessons in Love and Other Crimes (The Indigo Press); Keiran Goddard’s examination of heartbreak, Hourglass (Little, Brown); Alex Hyde’s story of two WW2 women, Violets (Granta); Maddie Mortimer’s novel of trauma and buried secrets, Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies (Picador); and Melody Razak’s tale exploring Indian independence from British rule, Moth (Weidenfeld & Nicolson).

Derek Owusu, chair of the judges and winner of the 2020 Desmond Elliott Prize, will be joined by journalist and author Symeon Brown and Cheltenham Literature Festival’s Lyndsey Fineran to choose the shortlist, which will be announced on 7^th June, and a final winner, to be revealed on 1^st July.

Owusu said: "It’s a blessing to be able to read such a wide scope of stories from first-time novelists. Themes such as freedom and identity are foundations on which literature stands tall, challenges us to discover ourselves and provides the opportunity for others to experience the same. I’m excited to see so many indie publishers make the list, many of whom take risks with innovative fiction that challenges our way of thinking about narratives. Choosing a shortlist will be tough but that difficulty is offset by the bliss of being about to experience many of these novels for the first time."

Peggy Hughes, executive director at the National Centre for Writing, which runs the award, said: "We’re delighted to announce a longlist that explores one of our most fundamental social needs, love, and the desire to take control of our own narratives, with many having themes of personal growth too. We’re looking forward to hearing Derek, Symeon and Lyndsey’s opinions on these captivating and thought-provoking debuts."