Annual British literary prize Award
| Republic of Consciousness Prize | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Book of the year published by UK and Irish small presses |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| First awarded | 2017; 7 years ago (2017) |
| Website | Official website |
The Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses is an annual British literary prize founded by the author Neil Griffiths. It rewards fiction published by UK and Irish small presses, defined as those with fewer than five full-time employees. The prize money – initially raised by crowdfunding and latterly augmented by sponsorship – is divided between the publishing house and the author.
Winners, shortlists and longlists
2017
The shortlist for the 2017 award was announced on 11 January 2017. The winner was announced on 9 March 2017.
- Winner: John Keene, Counternarratives (Fitzcarraldo Editions)
- Elnathan John, Born on a Tuesday (Cassava Republic Press)
- Mike McCormack, Solar Bones (Tramp Press)
- KJ Orr, Light Box (Daunt Books)
- Anakana Schofield, Martin John (And Other Stories)
- Paul Stanbridge, Forbidden Line (Galley Beggar Press)
- Diane Williams, Fine, Fine, Fine, Fine, Fine (CB Editions)
- Lara Williams, Treats (Freight Books)
Runners-up prizes were awarded to Martin John and Solar Bones; a Best First Novel prize for "Surfeit of Multitudinous Energy" was awarded to Forbidden Line. The following books were also longlisted for the prize:
- Kate Armstrong, The Storyteller (Holland House)
- Marcia Douglas, The Marvellous Equations of the Dread (Peepal Tree Press)
- Mia Gallagher, Beautiful Pictures of a Lost Homeland (New Island Books)
- Seraphina Madsen, Dodge and Burn (Dodo Ink)
- Sally O’Reilly, Crude (Eros)
- Faruk Šehić, Quiet Flows the Una, translated by Will Firth (Istros Books)
- Linda Stift, The Empress and the Cake, translated by Jamie Bolloch (Peirene Press)
- Chris Wilson, Glue Ponys (Tangerine Press)
2018
The shortlist for the 2018 award was announced on 19 February 2018. The winner was announced on 20 March 2018.
- Winner: Eley Williams, Attrib. and Other Stories (Influx Press)
- Ariana Harwicz, Die, My Love, translated by Sarah Moses and Carolina Orloff (Charco Press)
- David Hayden, Darker with the Lights On (Little Island Press)
- Noémi Lefebvre, Blue Self-Portrait, translated by Sophie Lewis (Les Fugitives)
- Preti Taneja, We That Are Young (Galley Beggar Press)
- Isabel Waidner, Gaudy Bauble (Dostoyevsky Wannabe)
The following books were also longlisted for the prize:
- Patty Yumi Cottrell, Sorry to Disrupt the Peace (And Other Stories)
- Kevin Davey, Playing Possum (Aaaargh! Press)
- Mathias Énard, Compass, translated by Charlotte Mandell (Fitzcarraldo Editions)
- Arja Kajermo, The Iron Age (Tramp Press)
- Ben Myers, The Gallows Pole (Bluemoose Books)
- Simon Okotie, In the Absence of Absalon (Salt Publishing)
- Jack Robinson, An Overcoat (CB Editions)
A special prize was awarded to Charles Boyle both publisher, as CB Editions, and, under the pseudonym Jack Robinson, author of An Overcoat: "The William Gass award for metafiction and for being the best person in publishing, like ever."
2019
The shortlist for the 2019 award was announced on 2 March 2019. The joint winners were announced on 28 March 2019.
- Winner: Will Eaves, Murmur (CB Editions)
- Winner: Alex Pheby, Lucia (Galley Beggar Press)
- Daša Drndić, Doppelgänger, translated by Celia Hawkesworth & S. D. Curtis (Istros Books)
- Wendy Erskine, Sweet Home (The Stinging Fly)
- Anthony Joseph, Kitch: A Fictional Biography of a Calypso Icon (Peepal Tree Press)
- Chris McCabe, Dedalus (Henningham Family Press)
The following books were also longlisted for the prize:
- Jean Frémon, Now, Now, Louison, translated by Cole Swensen (Les Fugitives)
- Julián Fuks, Resistance, translated by Daniel Hahn (Charco Press)
- Nora Ikstena, Soviet Milk, translated by Margita Gailitis (Peirene Press)
- Gabriel Josipovici, The Cemetery in Barnes (Carcanet Press)
- Sophie van Llewyn, Bottled Goods (Fairlight Books)
- Sue Rainsford, Follow Me to Ground (New Island Books)
- Nicholas John Turner, Hang Him When He Is Not There (Splice)
2020
The shortlist for the 2020 award was announced on 26 February 2020. The Winner was announced on 30 March 2020.
- Winner: Jean-Baptiste Del Amo, Animalia, translated by Frank Wynne (Fitzcarraldo Editions)
- Toby Litt, Patience (Galley Beggar Press)
- Hanne Ørstavik, Love, translated by Martin Aitken (And Other Stories)
- Minoli Salgado, Broken Jaw (The 87 Press)
- Isabel Waidner, We Are Made of Diamond Stuff (Dostoyevsky Wannabe)
The following books were also longlisted for the prize:
- Mara Coson, Aliasing (Book Works)
- Sarah Henstra, The Red Word (Tramp Press)
- Rónán Hession, Leonard and Hungry Paul (Bluemoose Books)
- Caleb Klaces, Fatherhood (Prototype Publishing)
- Melissa Lee-Houghton, That Lonesome Valley (Morbid Books)
- Juan Rulfo, El Llano in flames, translated by Stephen Beechinor (Structo Press)
- Faruk Šehić, Under Pressure, translated by Mirza Purić (Istros Books)
2021
The shortlist for the 2021 prize was announced on 26 March 2021. The winner was announced on 19 May 2021.
- Winner: Shola von Reinhold, Lote (Jacaranda Books)
- Lynne Tillman, Men and Apparitions (Peninsula Press)
- Monique Roffey, The Mermaid of Black Conch (Peepal Tree Press)
- Luis Sagasti, A Musical Offering, translated by Fionn Petch (Charco Press)
- Doireann Ní Ghríofa, A Ghost in the Throat (Tramp Press)
The following books were also longlisted for the prize.
- Katharina Volckmer, The Appointment (Fitzcarraldo Editions)
- Alex Pheby, Mordew (Galley Beggar Press)
- Paul Griffiths, Mr Beethoven (Henningham Family Press)
- Huw Lemmey and Hildegard von Bingen, Unknown Language (Ignota Books)
- Alhierd Bacharevič, Alindarka’s Children, translated by Jim Dingley & Petra Reid (Scotland Street Press)
2022
The shortlist for the 2022 prize was announced on 27 March 2022. The winner was announced on 11 May 2022.
- Winner: Norman Erikson Pasaribu, Happy Stories, Mostly, translated by Tiffany Tsao (Tilted Axis Press)
- Vanessa Onwuemezi, Dark Neighbourhood (Fitzcarraldo Editions)
- Scholastique Mukasonga, Our Lady of the Nile, translated by Melanie Mauthner (Daunt Books)
- Montserrat Roig, The Song of Youth, translated by Tiago Miller (Fum D'Estampa Press)
- Isabel Waidner, Sterling Karat Gold (Peninsula Press)
The following books were also longlisted for the prize:
- Ryan Dennis, The Beasts They Turned Away (Epoque Press)
- Mona Arshi, Somebody Loves You (And Other Stories)
- Badr Ahmad, Five Days Untold, translated by Christiaan James (Dar Arab)
- Jonas Eika, After the Sun, translated by Sherilyn Nicolette Hellberg (Lolli Editions)
2023
The shortlist for the 2023 prize was announced on 16 March 2023. The winner was announced on 26 April 2023.
- Winner: Missouri Williams, The Doloriad (Dead Ink)
- Steven J Fowler, MUEUM (Tenement Press)
- Nate Lippens, My Dead Book (Pilot Press)
- Sheena Patel, I’m a Fan (Rough Trade Books)
- Thuận, Chinatown, translated by Nguyễn An Lý (Tilted Axis Press)
The following books were also longlisted for the prize:
- Fatima Daas, The Last One, translated by Lara Vergnaud (Hope Road)
- Eva Ďurovec, New Mindmapping Forms (Montez Press)
- Yewande Omotoso, An Unusual Grief (Cassava Republic Press)
- John Smith, Little Boy (Boiler House Press)
- Zoë Wicomb, Still Life (Peninsula Press)
2024
The shortlist for the 2024 prize was announced on 4 March 2024. The winner was announced on 17 April 2024.
- Winner: Ana Paula Maia, Of Cattle and Men, translated by Zoë Perry (Charco Press)
- Sheyla Smanioto, Out of Earth, translated by Laura Garmeson & Sophie Lewis (Dead Ink)
- Farai Mudzingwa, Avenues by Train (Cassava Republic)
- Maxim Znak, The Zekameron, translated by Jim & Ella Dingley (Scotland Street Press)
- Yu Miri, The End of August, translated by Morgan Giles (Tilted Axis Press)
A prize for Outstanding First Novel went to Out of Earth. The following books were also longlisted for the prize:
- So Mayer, Truth & Dare (Cipher Press)
- Ventura Ametller, Summa Kaotica, translated by Douglas Suttle (Fum d’Estampa Press)
- Krisztina Tóth, Barcode, translated by Peter Sherwood (Jantar Press)
- Emilienne Malfatto, May the Tigris Grieve for You, translated by Lorna Scott Fox (Les Fugitives)
- Olga Ravn, My Work, translated by Sophia Hersi Smith & Jennifer Russell (Lolli Editions)
References
- Kean, Danuta (11 January 2017). "Crowdfunded small-press prize announces inaugural shortlist". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- Cain, Sian (10 March 2017). "Prize set up to reward 'brave, bold' publishers goes to Fitzcarraldo". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- "RofC Prize Rewards 'Brilliant & Brave' Fiction from the Small Presses". The Contemporary Small Press. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- Onwuemezi, Natasha (9 November 2016). "Tramp, Daunt and New Island presses longlisted for Republic of Consciousness Prize". The Bookseller. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- "The UK's Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses Names its 2018 Shortlist". Publishing Perspectives. 21 February 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- Onwuemezi, Natasha (20 March 2018). "Influx wins Republic of Consciousness Prize". The Bookseller. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- "The Republic of Consciousness Prize longlist". The Times Literary Supplement. 7 December 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- Law, Jackie (23 March 2018). "Gig Review: The Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses – Winner 2017". Never Imitate. Retrieved 7 March 2019.
- Flood, Alison (28 March 2019). "Book prize names two winners as it criticises 'false hierarchy' of awards". The Guardian.
- "The Republic of Consciousness Prize 2019 longlist". The Times Literary Supplement. 14 January 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
- Payn, Jessica (31 March 2020). "Fitzcarraldo Editions wins Republic of Consciousness Prize". The Arts Desk. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
- "The Republic of Consciousness 2020 longlist". Republic of Consciousness website. 24 January 2020.
- "2021 Prize". Republic of Consciousness. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
- Comerford, Ruth (19 May 2021). "Jacaranda and von Reinhold win Republic of Consciousness Prize". The Bookseller. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- Comerford, Ruth (4 February 2021). "Costa-winning Peepal Tree longlisted for Republic of Consciousness Prize". The Bookseller. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
- "Republic of Consciousness Prize 2022 shortlist announced". Books+Publishing. 29 March 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- "'Happy Stories, Mostly' wins Republic of Consciousness Prize". Books+Publishing. 12 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- "Republic of Consciousness Prize Longlist 2022". London Review Bookshop. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- "Last night at our very own Charing Cross Road flagship, the @PrizeRofc shortlist for small presses was announced". 17 March 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
- Knight, Lucy (26 April 2023). "Dead Ink wins Republic of Consciousness prize with Missouri Williams's 'astonishing' debut". The Guardian.
- Hebblethwaite, David (1 February 2023). "Republic of Consciousness Prize 2023: the longlist". David’s book World. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
- "Republic of Consciousness Prize shortlist sees the most works in translation in prize's history". 4 March 2024. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
- Creamer, Ella (17 April 2024). "Charco Press wins Republic of Consciousness prize for 'gut-punch' novel". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
- "2024: Republic of Consciousness Prize". 5 February 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2023.