In association with the British Library, the Folio Society is preparing for its second annual Fiction Festival, bringing together the world’s foremost literary minds in celebration of the year’s greatest storytelling. From over 60 titles, a shortlist of 8 novels (below) has been chosen by an international jury of formidable names, from Margaret Atwood to J.M. Coetzee. The works in contention will be judged by five members of the Academy, fronted this year by William Fiennes (Somerset Maugham Award winner, 2003), who will engage in a series of exciting and thought-provoking lectures across the weekend, joined by their shortlisted authors and an impressive body of leading figures in the world of fiction.
Though only in its second year, the Folio Prize has generated widespread media attention, quickly gaining a prestige which is sure to position it alongside the Man Booker, Costa, and Orange Prizes in the years to come.
Announcing the shortlisted novels for 2015, Fiennes suggested that ‘You feel reading these eight books that you’re witnessing fiction discovering new possibilities for itself,’ ‘refreshing itself, reaching out for new shapes and strategies, still discovering what it might be, and what it might do,’ in a sentiment which captures the Society’s dedication to championing independent literary writing against the popular fiction which has begun to dominate in recent years.
Familiar prize-wining names Ali Smith and Colm Tóibín continue to validate their place on the literary stage, though they are joined on the Folio shortlist by a number of critically-acclaimed new voices. Lerner’s second novel 10:04 – extracts of which have already won him the Terry Southern Prize, awarded by The Paris Review – marks the ongoing maturation of his previous explorations of form, humour and anxiety, whilst Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor and Akhil Sharma’s latest works have received worthy commendation from The New York Times.
The inaugural Folio Society Lecture is from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Half of a Yellow Sun, 2006) and with names like Jeanette Winterson, OBE, and Mark Lawson joining discussions of literature from Shakespeare to Zadie Smith, we advise booking sooner rather than later to make sure you’re not left behind by the momentum the Folio Prize is gathering.
Though only in its second year, the Folio Prize has generated widespread media attention, quickly gaining a prestige which is sure to position it alongside the Man Booker, Costa, and Orange Prizes in the years to come.
Announcing the shortlisted novels for 2015, Fiennes suggested that ‘You feel reading these eight books that you’re witnessing fiction discovering new possibilities for itself,’ ‘refreshing itself, reaching out for new shapes and strategies, still discovering what it might be, and what it might do,’ in a sentiment which captures the Society’s dedication to championing independent literary writing against the popular fiction which has begun to dominate in recent years.
Familiar prize-wining names Ali Smith and Colm Tóibín continue to validate their place on the literary stage, though they are joined on the Folio shortlist by a number of critically-acclaimed new voices. Lerner’s second novel 10:04 – extracts of which have already won him the Terry Southern Prize, awarded by The Paris Review – marks the ongoing maturation of his previous explorations of form, humour and anxiety, whilst Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor and Akhil Sharma’s latest works have received worthy commendation from The New York Times.
The inaugural Folio Society Lecture is from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Half of a Yellow Sun, 2006) and with names like Jeanette Winterson, OBE, and Mark Lawson joining discussions of literature from Shakespeare to Zadie Smith, we advise booking sooner rather than later to make sure you’re not left behind by the momentum the Folio Prize is gathering.
The 2015 Folio Prize Shortlist
10:04 by Ben Lerner (Granta)
All My Puny Sorrows by Mariam Toews (Faber)
Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill (Granta)
Dust by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor (Granta)
Family Life by Akhil Sharma (Faber)
How to Be Both by Ali Smith (Hamish Hamilton)
Nora Webster by Colm Tóibín (Viking)
Outline by Rachel Cusk (Faber)
| What | The Folio Prize Fiction Festival, 2015 |
| Where | British Library, 96 Euston Road, London, NW1 2DB | MAP |
| Nearest tube | King's Cross St. Pancras (underground) |
| When |
20 Mar 15 – 22 Mar 15, Times for talks vary. |
| Price | £10-40 |
| Website | Click here for more information and to book via the British Library |
