Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize

Annual award given to a work of debut fiction

Award

The Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize

Awarded for| Exceptional first novels
Date| 25 July 2024
Country| United Kingdom
Presented by| Waterstones
First awarded| 2022; 2 years ago (2022)
Website| www.waterstones.com/category/cultural-highlights/book-awards/the-waterstones-debut-fiction-prize

The Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, established in 2022,[1] is an annual literary award presented by British bookseller Waterstones to the best debut fiction published in the previous 12 months. The award is intended to "celebrate[] the very best fresh voices in fiction and share[] the joy and magic of discovering new authors."[1] Fictional books of all genres are considered, "including genre fiction such as crime, sci-fi and fantasy as well as fiction in translation."[2][3]

Award winners receive £5,000[3] and "the backing of all Waterstones shops."[2]

## Recipients

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Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize winners and finalists  Year  | Author  | Title  | Result  | Ref.

|
|
|
|

2022  | Tess Gunty | The Rabbit Hutch | Winner  | [4]
Sequoia Nagamatsu | How High We Go in the Dark | Shortlist  | [5][6][7]
Eloghosa Osunde | Vagabonds!
Tara M. Stringfellow | Memphis
Bonnie Garmus | Lessons in Chemistry
Louise Kennedy | Trespasses
2023  | Alice Winn | In Memoriam | Winner  | [8]
Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah | Chain-Gang All-Stars | Shortlist  | [9]
Jacqueline Crooks | Fire Rush
Michael Magee | Close to Home
Cecile Pin | Wandering Souls
Colin Walsh | Kala
2024  | Kaveh Akbar | Martyr! | Shortlist  | [10][11][12]
Kaliane Bradley | The Ministry of Time
Josie Ferguson | The Silence in Between
Hanako Footman | Mongrel
Ferdia Lennon | Glorious Exploits
Rebecca K Reilly | Greta and Valdin

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Orhanen, Anna (21 July 2022). "Why Debuts Matter: Bea Carvalho on the Ethos Behind the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize". Waterstones. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
2. ^ a b Bayley, Sian (4 April 2022). "Waterstones launches £5,000 debut fiction prize". The Bookseller. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
3. ^ a b "Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize". Locus Online. 5 April 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
4. ^ Zodgekar, Yash; Niva, Yadav (25 August 2022). "Tess Gunty's 'fiercely original' The Rabbit Hutch wins inaugural Waterstones debut fiction prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
5. ^ "Awards: Waterstones Debut Fiction Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. 22 July 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
6. ^ Doyle, Martin (21 July 2022). "Louise Kennedy on Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize shortlist; Margaret Atwood at Clifden festival". The Irish Times. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
7. ^ Shaffi, Sarah (20 July 2022). "Shortlist announced for Waterstones debut fiction prize". the Guardian. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
8. ^ "Alice Winn wins 2023 Waterstones debut fiction prize for In Memoriam". The Guardian. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
9. ^ "Waterstones debut fiction prize shortlist announced". Books+Publishing. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
10. ^ Cooper-Fiske, Casey (18 June 2024). "'Eye-opening' time travel story shortlisted for debut fiction prize". Evening Standard. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
11. ^ Waterstones (10 June 2024). Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize 2024 Shortlist. Retrieved 19 June 2024 - via YouTube.
12. ^ "'Eye-opening' time travel story shortlisted for debut fiction prize". www.corklive.ie. 18 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.