Women writers and debuts celebrated on Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award shortlist

Women writers exclusively make up the shortlist for this year’s Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award, with a strong representation of debut authors in the running.

Pan Macmillan has two authors on the list in a year that places historical fiction centrestage with novels set in Ancient Britain, Pompeii, mid-century New York City and 1960s Uganda.

Debut novels include We Are All Birds of Uganda by Hafsa Zayyan (Merky Books), winner of Stormzy’s inaugural #Merky Books New Writers’ Prize, Sistersong by Lucy Holland (Pan Macmillan), a reimagining of an English folk ballad set during the Saxon invasion of Ancient Britain, and Ariadne (Wildfire), a feminist retelling of the Minotaur myth from Jennifer Saint. Mrs March, a comedy of manners by Virginia Feito (HarperCollins), is also in the running. 

Completing the shortlist is The Wolf Den by Elodie Harper (Head of Zeus), a tale of sisterhood set in Pompeii’s most famous brothel, and Daughters of Night, a murder mystery by Laura Shepherd-Robinson (Pan Macmillan), whose debut Blood & Sugar was shortlisted for the 2020 award.

David Headley, Goldsboro Books co-founder and m.d., said: “We’ve always been keen to celebrate all genres with the Glass Bell, and these novels all push at the boundaries of historical, literary and crime fiction. These incredible books all take the past as a starting point – from feminist and LGBTQ+ retellings of myths and legends to a murder mystery set in Georgian London and stories of family and madness set in mid-century Uganda and New York. But most importantly of all, they are all enthralling stories. We’ll be having some lively conversations around these books in the coming weeks.”

The award is judged by Headley and his team at Goldsboro Books. It is the only prize that rewards storytelling in all genres—from romance, thrillers and ghost stories, to historical, speculative and literary fiction—and is awarded annually to "a compelling novel with brilliant characterisation and a distinct voice that is confidently written and assuredly realised". The winner, to be announced on 8th September, will receive £2,000 and a handmade glass bell.

Last year, debut author Clare Whitfield was announced as the fifth winner of the prize for her historical thriller, People of Abandoned Character (Head of Zeus), a take on the Jack the Ripper story.