In March, a number of major longlists, shortlists, and award winners were announced, covering a wide range of works. These awards celebrate books by authors of colour, showcase debut writers, among others.

Jhalak Prize 2024 longlist

First awarded in March 2017, the Jhalak Prize and its new sister award Jhalak Children’s & YA Prize founded in 2020, seek to celebrate books by British/British resident Black and ethnic minority writers.

Reacting to the longlist announcement which was made on March 20, Jhalak Prize judge actress Anni Domingo said: “The submissions have been so strong this year…It was a joy to be able to get into the world and minds of so many brilliant authors.” The shortlist will be announced on April 18, while the winner will be revealed on May 30.

• River Spirit by Leila Aboulela (Saqi Books)
• Self-Portrait as Othello by Jason Allen-Paisant (Carcanet)
• Azucar by Nii Ayikwwei Parkes (Peepal Tree Press)
• Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson (Penguin)
• Twelve Words for Moss by Elizabeth Jane Burnett (Penguin)
• Bright Fear by Mary Jean Chan (Faber)
• Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks (Vintage)
• Elsewhere by Yan Ge (Faber)
• A Flat Place by Noreen Masud (Penguin)
• A Pebble in the Throat by Aasmah Mir (Headline)
• Boundary Road by Ami Rao (Everything With Words)
• Anansi’s Gold: The Man Who Swindled The World by Yepoka Yeebo (Bloomsbury)

Nero Gold Prize book of the year 2023

The 2023 fiction judges for the Nero Book Awards called Paul Murray’s book “The Bee Sting” both “accomplished and highly readable”. In a statement, judges David Coates, Ella Dove, and Anthony Quinn added: “The characters shine, and the family members’ individual story arcs are all equally compelling and gripping.”

Read: Nero Book Awards: Paul Murray and Fern Brady winners of new prize

Set in rural Ireland in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crash, when the Celtic Tiger has lost its roar, “The Bee Sting” tells the story of The Barnes family who, in one way or another, all find themselves deep in trouble. The story captures the comic melodrama of life in a small community in episodes that are both recognisable and relatable but remains sympathetic to its characters, even as they make one bad decision after another. Check out the list of winning books here.

Gordon Burn Prize 2024 winner

The Gordon Burn Prize honours forward-thinking and ambitious literature, celebrated for its fearless approach in style and execution. It often blends genres, challenges conventions, and exceeds readers’ expectations. Published by Daunt Books, Kathryn Scanlan picked up the top prize for her book “Kick the Latch” on March 7, which vividly captures the arc of one woman’s life at the racetrack with economy and integrity.

Dylan Thomas Prize 2024 shortlist

The £20,000 Dylan Thomas Prize has been around for the past 18 years, and is designed for writers aged 39 or younger, in honour of its namesake, Dylan Thomas, who died at age 39 in November 1953. In fact, the 2023 cycle marked the 70th anniversary of Thomas’s death. The shortlist was unveiled on March 21, while the winner will be announced on May 16. The books were described by the judges as “heartbreaking,” “lucid,” “wildly inventive,” and “authentic.”

• A Spell of Good Things by Ayòbámi Adébáyò (Canongate Books)
• Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson (Penguin Random House UK / Viking)
• The Glutton by A. K. Blakemore (Granta)
• Bright Fear by Mary Jean Chan (Faber & Faber)
• Local Fires by Joshua Jones (Parthian Books)
• Biography of X by Catherine Lacey (Granta)

The Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award 2024 winner

The Sunday Times Charlotte Aitken Young Writer of the Year Award for writers 35 and younger named author and journalist Tom Crewe its 2024 winner for his debut publication, “The New Life,” published by Penguin Random House UK/Vintage. The Charlotte Aitken Trust awards £10,000 to the winner and £1,000 for each shortlisted author.

This year’s jury chair Johanna Thomas-Corr said, “‘Sometimes a debut novel comes along that feels like an immediate classic—a book that you suddenly can’t imagine not existing.

“If you’ve read Tom Crewe’s bold and beautifully observed debut The New Life, you’ll know that it’s just such a book. He’s a writer of rare promise.’

Crewe’s book is a historical fiction set in 1894, centred around the trial of Oscar Wilde and the fight for the decriminalisation of homosexuality in England. It would not be until 1967 that homosexuality was finally decriminalised in Britain.

The Writers’ Prize 2024 winner (formerly known as the Rathbones Folio Prize)

At the London Book Fair this year, the Writers’ Prize announced its three new winners, which included Liz Berry’s ​”The Home Child” for poetry, as well as being named Book of the Year. Anne Enright’s ​”The Wren” won in the Fiction category, and Laura Cumming’s ​”Thunderclap” took the nonfiction prize.

It is the only international, English-language award nominated and judged purely by other writers, and is open to all works of literature, regardless of form.

Read: Writers’ Prize: Zadie Smith and Naomi Klein in 2024 shortlist

On accepting the £32,000 Prize from former Rathbones Folio Prize winner Hisham Matar, Liz said: “When I was writing The Home Child, I liked to imagine that I was reaching back through time – to be able to hold the children in the story very tenderly, as tenderly as I might hold my own sons.

“Every day children cross our borders, and children fall through gaps in systems which are so underfunded. We’ve got to do our best, as writers and readers and humans, to welcome them, and protect them, and fight for their rights. Because if poetry and books teach us anything – it’s that everyone’s life is precious and everyone’s children are our children.”

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