The Prize

The winner for the Desmond Elliott Prize 2010, the award for a first novel published in the UK, is Ali Shaw with The Girl with Glass Feet. For more information about the book and its author please visit the winner page.

The writers shortlisted for the prize included acclaimed poet Jacob Polley and teacher Maria Allen. Described by the judges as both “intriguing and hugely rewarding”; the shortlist spans a range of genres encompassing the coming-of-age tale, historical fiction and magical realism.  

The 2010 shortlist included two finalists from independent publishers, Before the Earthquake and The Girl with Glass Feet.

The three novels shortlisted for The Desmond Elliott Prize 2010 were as follows:

• Before the Earthquake by Maria Allen
• Talk of the Town by Jacob Polley
• The Girl with Glass Feet by Ali Shaw

The Desmond Elliott Prize 2010 panel of judges was chaired by Elizabeth Buchan who was joined by William Skidelsky, Literary Editor of The Observer, and leading independent bookseller James Daunt, founder of Daunt Books.

The third Desmond Elliott Prize was awarded on 23 June 2010.