Joseph O’Connor’s masterful MY FATHER’S HOUSE on shortlist for 2024 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction

MY FATHER’S HOUSE by Joseph O’Connor has been shortlisted for the 2024 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. This is the second time Joseph O’Connor’s work has been recognised by the prize – with his acclaimed novel SHADOWPLAY also making the shortlist in 2020.

Honouring the achievements of the great Scottish historical novelist, the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction is one of the UK’s most prestigious literary prizes. It celebrates quality, innovation and ambition of writing, provided the majority of the novel’s storyline is set at least sixty years ago. Previous winners include THE NARROW LAND by Christine Dwyer Hickey and THE GALLOWS POLE by Benjamin Myers.

The other shortlisted titles for this year’s prize are as follows: THE NEW LIFE by Tom Crewe, THE HOUSE OF DOORS by Tan Twan Eng, HUNGRY GHOSTS by Kevin Jared Hosein, IN THE UPPER COUNTRY by Kai Thomas and ABSOLUTELY AND FOREVER by Rose Tremain.

The winner receives £25,000 and shortlisted authors each receive £1,500. This year’s winner will be announced at an event that opens the Borders Book Festival in Melrose, Scotland, on Thursday 13th June 2024.

The judging panel commented: ‘The Walter Scott Prize judging criteria – originality, innovation, ambition, durability and of course quality of writing – are beautifully showcased in our 2024 shortlist. In addition, we have six novels as diverse in their subject-matter as in style of writing: an attempted sexual revolution in 18th century London; dangerously entwined lives in 1940s Trinidad; gripping tensions in Nazi-occupied Rome; a gentle 1960s home-counties heartbreaker; stories within stories from the terminus of the Underground Railroad; and love, betrayal and scandal in the Straits Settlements of Penang. At the heart of each novel lies a deep understanding of humanity in all its quirky strengths and weaknesses, with each of the WSP 2024 shortlisted authors having something new to say and a new way of saying it.’

Based on the true story of Hugh O’Flaherty, an Irish priest in the Vatican who helped escaped prisoners evade capture in Nazi-occupied Rome, MY FATHER’S HOUSE is a powerful literary thriller from a master of historical fiction. It was first published to great acclaim in the UK and Ireland by Harvill Secker in January 2023 and in the US by Europa Editions in April 2023. Paperback editions followed in February 2024 (UK) and April 2024 (US), with the latter accompanied by an inclusion in  The New York Times – it was a ‘6 New Paperbacks to Read This Week’ pick.  Translation rights have been sold in Brazil, France, Germany, Italy and Sweden, and film rights are under option.

MY FATHER’S HOUSE flew straight to No.1 in Ireland on publication and occupied the top spot for four weeks, and has sold over 100,000 copies in the English language overall. It was longlisted for the 2024 Dublin Literary Award and shortlisted for the Eason Novel of the Year Award at the 2023 An Post Irish Book Awards (with Joseph shortlisted for the Library Association of Ireland Author of the Year Award at the same event). In June Joseph O’Connor is taking part in an exciting live multi-city theatre version of the hugely successful BBC Two series BETWEEN THE COVERS (which featured MY FATHER’S HOUSE in November 2023). O’Connor features alongside the BETWEEN THE COVERS celebrities Kacey Ainsworth, Jo Brand, and Stephen Mangan.

MY FATHER’S HOUSE has also been very well received in its many translation markets – most recently in France where Payot & Rivages are already onto their second reprint and publications like Les chroniques de Goliath are describing it as ‘dazzling… A fiction that dives its roots so deeply into historical truth that it becomes entirely credible.’

Joseph is going to be the Writer in Residence at the Incontri in Terra di Siena Festival this July, and earlier this year the Irish ambassadors to Italy and the Vatican jointly organised a celebratory event at the Irish Embassy in Rome to mark both the release of Harvill Secker’s paperback edition of MY FATHER’S HOUSE and Guanda’s Italian edition of LA CASA DI MIO PADRE.

Joseph is currently working on THE GHOSTS OF ROME, the second novel in the Escape Line trilogy (of which MY FATHER’S HOUSE is the first), which is due to be published by Harvill Secker in the UK and Europa in the US in early 2025.


About Joseph O’Connor

Photo credit: Urszula Soltys

Joseph O’Connor was born in Dublin, where he still lives. MY FATHER’S HOUSE is his tenth novel: he is also the author of film scripts, radio and stage plays, two collections of short stories, and several bestselling works of non-fiction.

2022 was the 20th anniversary of Joseph O’Connor’s novel STAR OF THE SEA which was an international bestseller, selling more than a million copies in the UK alone and being published in 38 languages. It won France’s Prix Millepages, Italy’s Premio Acerbi, the Irish Post Award for Fiction, the Nielsen Bookscan Golden Book Award, an American Library Association Award, the Hennessy/Sunday Tribune Hall of Fame Award, and the Prix Litteraire Zepter for European Novel of the Year.

He holds an honorary Doctorate in Literature from University College Dublin and received the Irish PEN Award for Outstanding Contribution to Irish Literature in 2012. He is the Inaugural Frank McCourt Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Limerick.

 

Praise for MY FATHER’S HOUSE

‘A gripping, compelling and utterly brilliant read.’ – Liz Nugent

‘I was fortunate enough to get my hands on a beautifully produced advance copy of Joseph's new novel. What a joy and privilege to be an early reader of a work of art from a towering figure in world literature. MY FATHER’S HOUSE is a masterwork. No writer in the world can tell a story the way Joseph O’Connor does. He can, without seeming effort, be all things to all readers, taking us by the hand and guiding us into the very heart of a story, his narrative techniques deployed with such unearthly skill that we’re hardly aware that this was written at all, it feels so real, so urgent, so incredibly alive. This novel is a searing and beautiful example of storytelling’s infinite importance, to our humanness, to our chances of learning from our most terrible and our most transcendent moments, and all our moments in between, to hold all life sacred, to see each other as brothers and sisters, to love and protect each other. No wonder he is so cherished and loved by his countless devotees across the earth. He is a national and international treasure, the most generous and noble of writers, a true master of the art.’ – Donal Ryan

‘A spectacular, thrilling novel… offering much more than tensely plotted thrills… MY FATHER’S HOUSE celebrates triumphant against-the-odds camaraderie. It would require a present-day Puccini to do operatic justice to its tremendous tale.’ – Peter Kemp, The Sunday Times

‘This formidable talent for writing across genres is reflected in his masterly 10th novel, which should reap similar plaudits… This is a literary thriller of the highest order. The incarnation of O’Flaherty, the Irish Oskar Schindler, is sublime. What often elevates a writer is compassion, and O’Connor has it in spades – paying tribute to the courage of those who resist tyranny. Beautifully crafted, his razor-sharp dialogue is to be savoured, and he employs dark humour to great effect. The plot twists keep on coming until the novel’s coda, where a final joyful conceit is revealed.’ – Lucy Popescu, The Observer

‘Joseph O’Connor’s historical novel MY FATHER’S HOUSE manages to be at once a ripping yarn and a profound exploration of moral choices in the worst of times… With lyrical evocation of time and place, scabrous humour and heart-stopping tension, it combines the pleasures of the ideal holiday read with those of a literary masterpiece.’ – Fintan O’Toole, The Irish Times, ‘The Best Books of 2023 so far’

Natasha Carthew and Karen Powell shortlisted for the inaugural Nero Book Awards

We’re delighted to share the news that two Blake Friedmann books – UNDERCURRENT by Natasha Carthew and FIFTEEN WILD DECEMBERS by Karen Powell – have been shortlisted for the 2023 Nero Book Awards.

UNDERCURRENT has been shortlisted for the non-fiction award while FIFTEEN WILD DECEMBERS made the fiction shortlist. You can read about the other shortlisted titles here.

UNDERCURRENT was published in hardback by Coronet in April 2023, receiving excellent reviews and endorsements, including ‘this important and beautifully lyrical book asks questions about identity, belonging and the ability of words to transform a life’ from The Times. Part-memoir, part-investigation, part love-letter to Cornwall, UNDERCURRENT follows Natasha as she returns to the cliffs of her childhood, determined to make sense of an upbringing shaped by political neglect and a life defined by the beauty of nature. It is a journey through place, and a vivid story of hope, beauty and fierce resilience, and will be published in paperback in Spring 2024.

A Times Best Historical Fiction Books of 2023 pick, FIFTEEN WILD DECEMBERS was published by Europa Editions in October 2023. It is a creative retelling of the life of one of Britain’s most talented writers — Emily Bronte – and deftly explores imagination, liberty, sisterhood, and the power of nature in dazzling, evocative prose. Karen is currently working on her next novel.

The Nero Book Awards were launched in May 2023 and are underwritten and delivered by Caffè Nero in partnership with Right To Dream, The Booksellers Association and Brunel University London. The Awards ‘celebrate the craft of great writing and the joy of reading, while also pointing readers of all ages and interests in the direction of outstanding books.’ They recognise the ‘best writing and reads’ in the following categories: Children’s Fiction, Debut Fiction, Fiction and Non-Fiction.

Amanda Johnson, awards director, commented: ‘The announcement of our shortlist is such an exciting milestone for the Nero Book Awards. We have here an incredible range of books that will speak to a variety of different audiences, from books based on true stories to fantasies to explorations of self, place and landscape. Huge congratulations to all the shortlisted authors and their publishers. We hope that everyone will find a new favourite book on this list.’

The category winners will be announced on 16th January 2024 and those books will go forward for consideration for the 2023 Nero Gold Prize, to be announced at a ceremony in London in late February 2024.

About Natasha Carthew

Natasha Carthew is a working-class writer from Cornwall. She has written all her nine books outside, either in the fields and woodland that surround her home or in the cabin that she built from scrap wood. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Working Class Writers’ Festival and The Nature Writing Prize for Working Class Writers. Natasha is known for writing on socioeconomic issues and working-class representation in literature for several publications, podcasts and programmes; including ITV, BBC Radio 4, The Bookseller, Guardian, and The Economist. She is a recipient of The Bookseller Rising Star Award 2022.

Praise for UNDERCURRENT

‘A powerful story of social inequality told with the depth of voice that only comes from a writer passionately rooted in place. Like the Cornish tides that fill her life, Carthew is at times roaring, visceral and exclusive, in turn gentle, embracing and inclusive, but always driven by hope and determination.’ – Raynor Winn

‘Haunting and powerful, a book about the sea and the power of belonging, about secrets and words, this is a beautiful and powerful memoir. I read it in one sitting.’ – Kate Mosse

‘Carthew shows us Cornwall as it often lived but rarely seen, where the rich holiday and others struggle to survive. It's a tale of two counties with the ever-changing sea as a constant. It is a story of queer resistance, of community and of finding your own voice. Written with the personal campaign passion of Kerry Hudson’s LOWBORN.’ – Damian Barr

‘By turns marvellous, moving, & mesmerising’ – Anita Sethi

‘UNDERCURRENT deals with difficult issues, including violence, self-harm, Carthew’s unhappiness as a gay teenager and abuse of alcohol and drugs. There is righteous anger about the damage done to Cornish people by unemployment, social deprivation and lack of housing: “The heart of our communities is being ripped out”. But this is also a story of humour, resilience and doing things with Kernewek pride, and Carthew's decision in the closing pages to walk away from her self-destructive teenage life and the Cornish landscape she loved is moving.’ – Ann Kennedy Smith, Times Literary Supplement

About Karen Powell

Karen grew up in Rochester, Kent. She left school at sixteen but returned to education in her mid-twenties, reading English Literature at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge. Karen lives with her family in York and works at York Minster Fund, a charity which raises money for the conservation and restoration of York Minster.

Her debut novel, THE RIVER WITHIN, was published by Europa in the USA and UK (2020) and Edizioni E/O in Italy, and was described as ‘utterly stunning’, ‘mesmerizing’ and hailed as ‘a masterpiece.’

Praise for FIFTEEN WILD DECEMBERS

‘How this isolated, grief-drenched existence gave rise to the passionate artistic sensibility of Emily’s poetry and fiction is powerfully envisioned in Karen Powell’s second novel, FIFTEEN WILD DECEMBERS. Powell’s debut novel, 2020’s THE RIVER WITHIN, was set in the 1950s in North Yorkshire, where Powell herself lives, and evinced the same fine eye for landscape that suffuses this novel… the worlds shared with her sisters and brother are beautifully drawn… Powell is faithful to the known facts about the Brontë family without letting this material oppress the fictional narrative… the description of the final weeks of Emily’s life is almost unbearably moving… for all this, the book’s lasting impression is not of melancholy, but unquenchable vitality… With FIFTEEN WILD DECEMBERS, Powell has served her heroine loyally.’ – Rebecca Abrams, The Financial Times

 ‘The story of moorland isolation, early deaths and burgeoning creativity is a familiar one, but Powell with Emily as her first-person narrator, gives it a new energy, capturing the vulnerability of the three sisters and their determination to make the most of their talents.’ – Nick Rennison, The Times, ‘The best historical fiction books of 2023’

 ‘I was spellbound by this fictionalised portrait of Emily Brontë, brimming with the texture of the dank, wild hills of Yorkshire, the weight and power of grief, and the contentment to be found in daring to forge one’s own path in the world. To read Karen Powell is to be constantly delighted and intrigued; each sentence is so sharp, so shining.’ – Elizabeth Macneal

‘Beautiful.’ – Victoria Hislop

‘Brilliant and imaginative… Its language is muscular and precise, its sympathy passionate, true and, in the end, overwhelming.’ – Anthony Quinn, author of CURTAIN CALL

 

Follow Natasha on X (previously Twitter) and Instagram

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Shani Akilah shortlisted for the Writers’ & Artists’ Short Story Competition 2023

Shani Akilah’s story ‘A Short Trip to Tesco’ has been shortlisted for the Writers’ & Artists’ Short Story Competition 2023 after previously making the longlist.

Shani’s story was one of eight selected from a longlist of sixteen titles and over 850 entries to this year’s competition, themed around ‘Writing Love’. The shortlist was chosen by writer Naomi Booth.

Speaking about judging the competition, Naomi Booth said ‘It was a delight to read these short stories about love—in part because of their commitment to the surprising, the various, the ephemeral, and the difficult to articulate. There were brilliant stories in this longlist that focussed on the sharp and tender pain of lost loves; on the wordless dislocation of maternal love; on new friendships and the rush of fresh beginnings.’

‘A Short Trip to Tesco’ will appear in Shani’s upcoming debut short story collection.

About Shani Akilah

Shani Akilah is a 28 year-old Black-British writer from South London of Caribbean heritage (Guyana, Barbados and Jamaica). She is an avid reader and book blogger and was spotlighted as a ‘Key Black Influencer’ by DoubleDay Books.

 Shani is passionate about community and bringing people together and is the co-founder of Nyah Network, a book club for black women and is also the founder of contributor based platform, Bankra, that explored the navigated identities of black millennials.

 Shani loves travelling, and has spent significant time in Ghana as part of her studies. Shani has a Masters degree in African Studies from Oxford University with research exploring counter-diasporic return and issues of home and belonging amongst second-generation British-Ghanaians.

 Follow Shani on Twitter.

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