It is one we always hope to have a submission for,” she said. “To be the recipient of this prize is especially gratifying. and Other Stories by Eley Williams.īrandes said she was “absolutely thrilled” that LOTE had won. Previous winners of the award include Fitzcarraldo Editions for Animalia by Jean-Baptiste Del Amo, translated by Frank Wynne, and Influx Press for Attrib. Griffiths described von Reinhold’s debut as “a watershed novel … LOTE is unconstrained, abundant, and possesses a surplus of energy that makes the reading experience thrilling in ways more accomplished novelists can only dream about.” “In contradistinction to all other prizes, we gave away half the prize fund to the longlist – 10 presses – and divided the rest with the shortlist – press and writer equally. Not only have we had the most formally and culturally diverse longlist in five years, it was this year we were able to fulfil an ambition: to reward the whole of the longlist,” said founder Neil Griffiths. “This has been a special year for the prize. The five shortlisted books received £3,000, with £2,000 going to the publisher and £1,000 to the author, while the remaining five publishers on the longlist received £1,000 each. This is the first year it has also rewarded its entire longlist: Charco Press, Fitzcarraldo Editions, Galley Beggar Press, Henningham Family Press, Ignota Books, Jacaranda Books, Peepal Tree Press, Peninsula Press, Scotland Street Press and Tramp Press. Last year, the prize shared the winnings equally among all five shortlisted publishers.

Given to the best literary novel published by a small press in the UK and Ireland with fewer than five employees, the Republic of Consciousness prize took the decision to split the prize among two authors and their publishers in 2019, criticising the “false hierarchy” of awards. “And, as far as I’m concerned, the 19 other Jacaranda writers it was published alongside in 2020 – without whom it wouldn’t have been published in the first place!” They also called on the publishing industry “to voice their solidarity with Palestine and demand all affiliates divest in arms funding as a minimum.” “I will say one made somewhat easier to process – and all the more appreciable – by the fact that as a shared prize it’s as much about Jacaranda and the other publishers and books on the shortlist and longlist,” they said. Von Reinhold described their win as a “totally outlandish concept”.

Shola von reinhold