The shortlist for the HWA Goldsboro Debut Crown 2016 was announced at this year’s History In The Court event on Thursday evening (30th June). The judges revealed the chosen six finalists from the longlist of twelve as historical writers and readers gathered for the annual literary event hosted by Goldsboro Books at their Cecil Court, London bookshop. The titles on the shortlist include Death and Mr Pickwick by Stephen Jarvis, Eden Gardens by Louise Brown, The Hoarse Oaths of Fife by Chris Moore, Mrs Engels by Gavin McCrea, Summertime by Vanessa Lafaye and Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekbäck.
The HWA Goldsboro Debut Crown award and prize money of £1,000 will be presented at the Harrogate International Festivals’ 2016 Harrogate History Festival, which takes place between 21st – 23rd October this year. As well as revealing their shortlist titles, the judges provided a brief insight into why they chose each book, which is detailed on the full shortlist below.
“History In The Court is a wonderful event for historical fiction fans and writers to come together and celebrate the genre,” says HWA Chair Imogen Robertson. “With Goldsboro Books sponsoring the HWA Goldsboro Debut Crown, the event was a wonderful chance to reveal our shortlist. There are such excellent books in contention, I don’t envy the judges in trying to narrow it down to one winner.”
The HWA Goldsboro Debut Crown shortlist in full:
Death and Mr Pickwick by Stephen Jarvis, published by Jonathan Cape
The judges said: “A splendidly ambitious and tongue-in-cheek pastiche of the Victorian novel: The Pickwick Papers will never be the same again.”
Eden Gardens by Louise Brown, published by Headline
The judges said: “White trash in British India: a poignant mother-and-daughter story provides an unexpected perspective on the Raj.”
The Hoarse Oaths of Fife by Chris Moore, published by Uniform Press
The judges said: “From Fife in the 1960s to Loos in World War I: a wry and moving novel about fathers and sons that also meditates on war and race.
Mrs Engels by Gavin McCrea, published by Scribe
The judges said: “The private lives of Marx and Engels are revealed as never before in this brilliant act of literary ventriloquism.”
Summertime by Vanessa Lafaye, published by Orion
The judges said: “A powerful and accomplished novel of love and loss that focuses on the plight of unwanted veterans and Florida’s disastrous 1935 hurricane.”
Wolf Winter by Cecilia Ekbäck, published by Hodder
The judges said: “Finnish settlers are immersed in a powerful, beautifully written gothic murder mystery in a remote area of eighteenth-century Lapland.”
For further information, please contact Kate White, press officer for the Historical Writers’ Association at kate@frontpagemediauk.co.uk or on 07814791775.
