Over 400 writers and members of the publishing industry attended the ceremony which saw eight awards presented to 31 writers, each of whom received a share of the substantial £98,000 prize fund. The evening’s celebrations began with a speech from Philip Pullman, President of the Society of Authors (SoA) about how important it is for writers to have the approval of their peers. He then handed over to Stephen Fry, host of the Awards, who talked about how “the diversity of literature in our language is a cause of real celebration and pride”, and how essential it is for literary voices to be recognised.

The SoA Awards are chosen by authors for authors, with many of the judges being former winners themselves. ALCS was thrilled to be able to support and be a part of the evening, and congratulates all the winners.

Barbara Hayes, Deputy Chief Executive at ALCS commented: “ALCS was delighted to support the awards, which recognises lots of different writers who are working across the many genres and literary forms. We were particularly delighted to sponsor the Tom-Gallon Trust Award, which celebrates the short story, a category of fiction much overlooked. ALCS members are numerous and varied, and we are dedicated to promoting and supporting events that represent them and offer opportunities and recognition within the writing community.”

THE WINNERS

Betty Trask Prize and Awards

Awarded for a first novel by a writer under 35

Betty Trask Prize Winner: Omar Robert Hamilton for The City Always Wins (Faber & Faber) – Prize £10,000

Betty Trask Awards (£3,250 each)

• Sarah Day for Mussolini’s Island (Tinder Press)
• Clare Fisher for All the Good Things (Viking)
• Eli Goldstone for Strange Heart Beating (Granta)
• Lloyd Markham for Bad Ideas/ Chemicals (Parthian)
• Masande Ntshanga for The Reactive (Jacaranda)

McKitterick Prize

Awarded for a first novel by a writer over 40

• McKitterick Prize Winner: Anietie Isong for Radio Sunrise (Jacaranda) – Prize £4,000
• McKitterick Prize Runner-Up: Frances Maynard for The Seven Imperfect Rules of Elvira Carr (Pan Macmillan) –  Prize £1,250

The ALCS-sponsored Tom-Gallon Trust Award

Awarded for a short story by a writer who has had at least one short story accepted for publication

• Tom-Gallon Trust Award Winner: Chris Connolly for The Speed of Light and How it Cannot Help Us – Prize £1,000
• Tom-Gallon Trust Award Runner-Up: Benjamin Myers for A Thousand Acres of English Soil – Prize £575

Somerset Maugham Awards

Awarded for published works of fiction, non-fiction or poetry by writers under 35, to enable them to enrich their work by gaining experience of foreign countries (£5,250 each)

• Kayo Chingonyi for Kumakanda (Chatto & Windus) – poetry
• Fiona Mozley for Elmet (JM Originals) – novel
• Miriam Nash for All the Prayers in the House (Bloodaxe Books) – poetry

Eric Gregory Awards

Awarded for a collection of poems by a poet under 30 (£4,050 each)

• Zohar Atkins for System Baby
• Victoria Adukwei Bulley for Girl Being
• Jenna Clake for Fortune Cookie (Eyewear Publishing)
• Joseph Eastell for Blossom Boy Beta Test
• Annie Katchinska for Sesame Powders
• Ali Lewis for Hotel
• Stephen Sexton for The animals, moon

Cholmondeley Awards

Awarded for a body of work by a poet (£1,680 each)

• Vahni Capildeo
• Kate Clanchy
• Linton Kwesi Johnson
• Daljit Nagra
• Zoë Skoulding

Elizabeth Longford Prize

Historical Biography award (£5,000)

• Giles Tremlett for Isabella of Castile: Europe’s First Great Queen (Bloomsbury)

Travelling Scholarships

Awarded for British creative writers to enable them to keep in contact with writing colleagues abroad (£1,575 each)

• Jenn Ashworth
• Tash Aw
• Jessie Greengrass
• James Harpur
• Sudhir Hazareesingh

About the Society of Authors: the SoA is the UK trade union for all types of writers, scriptwriters, illustrators and literary translators, at all stages of their careers. It has more than 10,000 members and has been advising individuals and speaking out for the profession for more than a century.

Further information about the Authors’ Awards can be found here.