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The Prize for New Fiction

Launched in 2007, The Desmond Elliott Prize has quickly become established as the premier prize for new fiction. Media coverage for the 2010 Prize reached beyond the United Kingdom to an international audience in Europe, the United States and Australia.

A panel of three judges for the Prize are asked to look for a novel of depth and breadth with a compelling narrative. The work should be vividly written and confidently realised and should contain original and arresting characters. Books from all fiction genres are considered.

Worth £10,000 to the winner, the Prize is intended to support new writers and to celebrate their fiction. It was created in memory of the charismatic publisher and literary agent Desmond Elliott, who died in August 2003. He stipulated that his estate should be invested in a charitable trust that would fund a literary award “to enrich the careers of new writers”.

Dallas Manderson, Chairman of the Desmond Elliot Charitable Trust comments:
“ We are delighted that the reputation of the prize continues to grow and that we have been able to encourage and sustain such outstanding first novelists.”

The winner of The Desmond Elliott Prize 2010 has now been announced. For more information please visit the winner page.

The 2009 winner was Blackmoor by Edward Hogan and Nikita Lalwani won the inaugural prize in 2008 for her novel Gifted.