The Folio Prize Announces Inaugural Shortlist

Posted on February 27, 2014

The inaugural shortlist of The Folio Prize has been announced. The Folio Prize, sponsored by The Folio Socity, is open to writers around the world. The prize is open to all works of fiction written in English and published in the UK. It carries a 40,000 pound cash prize. The stated goal of the prize is to "celebrate the best fiction of our time, regardless of form or genre, and to bring it to the attention of as many readers as possible." The Guardian says the prize was "born from frustration at the perceived shortcomings of the Man Booker."

Lavinia Greenlaw, Chair of the judges, said in a statement, "Our experience of reading 80 books over five months was full of surprises, challenges, frustrations, provocations, regrets and delights. The shortlist we've arrived at is one of which we're proud. Our deliberations were long and intense. We forgot about the authors and focused on the books. Only when we surfaced with our chosen eight in hand did we reflect on what they collectively represent: the art of fiction at full stretch and in all its forms, and the ingenious and dazzling results of form under exquisite pressure."

There are eight books in the shortlist. Here is the list:

Red Doc by Anne Carson (Random House/Jonathan Cape)
Schroder by Amity Gaige (Faber & Faber)
Last Friends by Jane Gardam (Little, Brown)
Benediction by Kent Haruf (Picador)
The Flame Throwers by Rachel Kushner (Random House/Harvill Secker)
A Girl Is A Half-Formed Thing by Eimear McBride (Galley Beggar Press)
A Naked Singularity by Sergio De La Pava (Maclehose Editions)
Tenth of December by George Saunders (Bloomsbury)

The winner will be announced on March 10th at a ceremony held at the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel.