Bluepencilagency announces the First Novel Award Shortlisted authors and titles. Our 2018 judges were Literary Agent of the Year, Madeleine Milburn and author of The Maid’s Room, Fiona Mitchell.
BREEDER Mandy Robotham
DOLL Peter Leggatt
IN PLAIN SIGHT Rebecca Williams
LEAVE ME SLOW Chelsey Pippin
LIVING IN TWILIGHT Susan Barsby
MY POOR DELUDED GIRL Jules Lampshire
WHAT HOME IS Tali Gumbiner
The judges were hooked, seduced and horrified in equal measure by the worlds inhabited by a colourful cast of characters with strong voices: Love tokens left on the underground, babies conceived to order, a romance between a man and a sex doll, stolen identity, teenage depression and suicide, a serial killer mother and a lively gang of motherless mixed race children.
Prizes for the winner and runner up include an introduction to Madeleine as well as £1,250 in cash and an editorial report. The Award is given to unpublished writers without representation.
We received entries from writers throughout the UK and from as far afield as Australia, New Zealand, the US and Canada as well as Europe. Entries were across all genres including YA, dystopian, fantasy, literary fiction, historical, psychological, crime and comedy. Our longlist of 25 titles was announced on September 14, 2018.