Sarah Harman wins the 2023 Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize with 'All The Other Mothers Hate Me'
The College announced this year’s winner of its prestigious Fiction Prize at the dedicated award ceremony.
The College has announced its longlist of 17 dazzling debut novels, reflecting the wealth of literary talent amongst unpublished women writers in the UK and Ireland.
The Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize provides an unparalleled opportunity for writers to launch their literary careers. This year, we received over 500 entries. Thanks to the generosity of Fellow Emerita and judge Dr Isobel Maddison, editor and ghost-writer Gillian Stern, and Fiction Prize alumni and published authors Carly Reagon and Alison Stockham, we were able to offer 16 sponsored entries for low-income writers.
The longlist showcases an eclectic range of novels from 17 debut authors.
2023 Longlist
- Amy Abdelnoor - The Sabaar Plant
- Wanda Albano - The Prayer Eaters
- Helen Bain - Court Green
- Smita Bhide - Ramraj
- Glenda Cooper - White Death
- Hannah Drennan - The Return
- Fuzi Ferreira - Trial By Combat
- Lucrezia Gaion - Penny and the Pathwalkers
- Sarah Harman - The Dirtbag Detective
- Katherine Hurst - Mistress, Lover, Spy
- Charlotte Imrie - Armonica
- Michelle Johansen - a nice rum baba
- Anna Knowland - Water Soldier
- Carrie Loman - Fallen Picture
- Elizabeth Opalka - The Two Murders at Manor Park
- Cath Paulley - Chopin's Bones
- Kayleigh Rattle - Gin Lane
The talented authors will now await the Prize shortlist, which will be announced on the 3rd of May.
The 2023 judging panel, chaired by critically acclaimed novelist, Dame Rose Tremain, welcomes back Tim Bates, Head of the Books Department and literary agent at PFD, Jackie Ashley, political journalist, broadcaster and Honorary Fellow of the College, Dr Isobel Maddison, Fellow Emerita of Lucy Cavendish College, Gillian Stern, editor and ghost-writer, Lindsey Traub, Fellow Emerita, and Phoebe Morgan, Harper Collins Editorial Director and author of four novels published by HQ. Joining the panel this year, we also have Reeta Chakrabarti, BBC News presenter and correspondent, and Sheena Patel, writer and assistant director for the film and TV industry.
Dame Rose Tremain says, “As in previous years, the longlist for the prize is strong and diverse. Filleting out the shortlist, and then the winner, is going to be a difficult task, but my excellent fellow judges and I agreed that we’re looking for serious work that has both narrative grip and stylistic coherence. In our crowded literary landscape, we want to reward fiction that demonstrates an understanding of its own reasons for existence.”
The 2022 winner of the Fiction Prize was Hannah Stapleton with her novel Blue Tears.
The Fiction Prize and its authors
Since its foundation in 2010, the Prize has been a starting point in numerous entrants’ success stories giving them the platform to launch successful and ongoing careers as novelists.
Read more about the successful authors here.
The winner will be awarded a prize of £1,500 and all shortlisted entrants will receive one-to-one consultation with an agent at our sponsor Peter Fraser + Dunlop who will give each author editorial feedback as well as publishing advice.
About Lucy Cavendish College
Lucy Cavendish College’s mission is to unlock the potential of students from non-traditional and underrepresented backgrounds who are driven by a desire to make a difference and are committed to having a positive and lasting impact on society.
Contact information
https://www.lucy.cam.ac.uk/fictionprize Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge, T: 01223 768426, E: comms@lucy.cam.ac.uk
To find out more about the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize click here.