Author Edward Hogan Wins Desmond Elliott Prize

Posted on June 24, 2009

Reuters reports that author Edward Hogan has won the Desmond Elliott Prize. The Desmond Elliott Prize is an annual award for a first novel written in English and published in the UK. Worth £10,000 to the winner, the prize is named after the literary agent and publisher, Desmond Elliott.

The former teacher from Derby, central England, started working on the novel seven years before it appeared in print in 2008. "Blackmoor" is published by Simon & Schuster.
The story, set in Hogan's home county of Derbyshire, centres on a small mining community at the time of the miners' strike in the mid-1980s which saw thousands of miners clash with police in a bitter standoff over job losses in the coal industry.
"I was four when (the strikes) happened, in West Hallam," Hogan said in a statement. "I couldn't really remember it, but to me it seemed like such an integral part of the community."
Hogan is in the process of writing his follow-up novel.

The prize was awarded by a panel of three judges, Candida Lycett Green (Chair), Rodney Troubridge and Suzi Fea. Canddia Lycett Green said, "In a shortlist of exceptional quality Blackmoor stands out. For a first novel it is both beautifully crafted and dazzlingly well-written."