Gaynor Arnold shortlisted for McKitterick Prize

Thursday, 29^th October 2009

Gaynor Arnold’s ‘spot-on’ debut Girl in a Blue Dress has already captured the attention of the literary world by way of its Man Booker Prize, Orange Prize, and Desmond Elliott Prize longlistings – and now we are delighted to announce that it has received its first shortlisting, for the McKitterick Prize 2009.

This prestigious prize of £4000 is given to the best first novel by an author over the age of 40. Awarded by the Society of Authors, the McKitterick Prize was judged this year by novelists Andrew Cowan (Pig, Crustaceans), Lindsey Davis (author of the Falco novels), and Frances Fyfield (Blood from Stone, The Art of Drowning).

The other shortlisted authors were:

• Rebecca Abrams for Touching Distance
• Sadie Jones for The Outcast
• J. David Simons for The Credit Draper
• Chris Hannan for Missy (overall winner)

Gaynor commented: “Being longlisted for three major literary prizes in the last year was hugely gratifying, but the McKitterick Prize (restricted to first-time novelists over 40) seemed the one where I might actually stand a chance of doing better. So it was really heartening to learn that I actually made the shortlist this time, alongside writers such as Sadie Jones, whose novel The Outcast I thought superb. I’m only sorry the shortlist is published after the winner is announced so that my opportunity for basking in shortlisted status is entirely retrospective!”