The Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, established in 2022,[1] is an annual literary award presented by British bookseller Waterstones to the best debut fiction published in the previous 12 months. The award is intended to "celebrate[] the very best fresh voices in fiction and share[] the joy and magic of discovering new authors."[1] Fictional books of all genres are considered, "including genre fiction such as crime, sci-fi and fantasy as well as fiction in translation."[2][3]

Award winners receive £5,000[3] and "the backing of all Waterstones shops."[2]

Recipients

Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize winners and finalists
Year Author Title Result Ref.
2022 Tess Gunty The Rabbit Hutch Winner [4]
Sequoia Nagamatsu How High We Go in the Dark Shortlist [5][6][7]
Eloghosa Osunde Vagabonds!
Tara M. Stringfellow Memphis
Bonnie Garmus Lessons in Chemistry
Louise Kennedy Trespasses
2023 Alice Winn In Memoriam Winner [8]
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah Chain-Gang All-Stars Shortlist [9]
Jacqueline Crooks Fire Rush
Michael Magee Close to Home
Cecile Pin Wandering Souls
Colin Walsh Kala


References

  1. ^ a b Orhanen, Anna (2022-07-21). "Why Debuts Matter: Bea Carvalho on the Ethos Behind the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize". Waterstones. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  2. ^ a b Bayley, Sian (2022-04-04). "Waterstones launches £5,000 debut fiction prize". The Bookseller. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  3. ^ a b "Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize". Locus Online. 2022-04-05. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  4. ^ Zodgekar, Yash; Niva, Yadav (2022-08-25). "Tess Gunty's 'fiercely original' The Rabbit Hutch wins inaugural Waterstones debut fiction prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  5. ^ "Awards: Waterstones Debut Fiction Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. 2022-07-22. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  6. ^ Doyle, Martin (2022-07-21). "Louise Kennedy on Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize shortlist; Margaret Atwood at Clifden festival". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  7. ^ Shaffi, Sarah (2022-07-20). "Shortlist announced for Waterstones debut fiction prize". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  8. ^ "Alice Winn wins 2023 Waterstones debut fiction prize for In Memoriam". The Guardian. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  9. ^ "Waterstones debut fiction prize shortlist announced". Books+Publishing. 2023-07-17. Retrieved 2023-07-23.
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