Staunch Book Prize 2019 shortlist announced
4 November 2019
In the UK, the shortlist for the Staunch Book Prize—for the best thriller novel in which no woman is beaten, stalked, sexually exploited, raped or murdered—has been announced.
The shortlisted titles are:
- Only to Sleep (Lawrence Osborne, Vintage)
- The Western Wind (Samantha Harvey, Vintage)
- Honey (Brenda Brooks, ECW Press)
- The Godmother (Hannelore Cayre, trans by Stephanie Smee, Black Inc.)
- Liar’s Candle (August Thomas, S&S).
Established by UK screenwriter Bridget Lawless last year, the prize aims to ‘make space for an alternative to the overload of violence towards women in fiction’. Australian author Jock Serong won the inaugural award for On the Java Ridge (Text).
Earlier this year, prize organisers came under criticism from crime writers, including Steve Mosby, Julia Crouch and Sarah Hilary, after the prize claimed on its website that crime fiction could bias jurors in rape trials.
This year’s winner, who will receive £1000 (A$1870), will be announced on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. For more information, visit the website.