Society of Authors Awards Night Celebrates the Best in Literature and Poetry

Iconic reggae musician and poet, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Whitbread winner Tash Aw, Man Booker nominated Fiona Mozley, Women’s Prize shortlistee, Jessie Greengrass and debut novelist Omar Robert Hamilton amongst winners as 31 of the ‘boldest’ writers from across the world share the UK’S biggest literary fund.

Writers and poets from across the globe were celebrating as the 2018 Authors’ Awards were announced by the Society of Authors last night.

Eight awards were presented to 31 writers with a host of debut names joining recognised writers of fiction, non-fiction and poetry to share a prize fund of £98,000.

David Donachie, Chair of the Society of Authors Management Committee says of the Awards “These awards are unique for being uncommercial, funded to the tune of nearly £100,000 by bequests from writers working in every form, judged by their present-day heirs and awarded to the best in each category. They celebrate, as well as promote, writers and writing and nothing else.”

The Winners

The Betty Trask Prize & Awards

The Betty Trask Prize and Awards are presented for a first novel by a writer under 35.

The Betty Trask Prize Winner – Awarded £10,000

• Omar Robert Hamilton for The City Always Wins (Faber & Faber)

The Betty Trask Award Winners – Awarded £3,250 each

• Sarah Day for Mussolini's Island (Tinder Press)
• Clare Fisher for All the Good Things (Viking)
• Eli Goldstone for Strange Heart Beating (Granta)
• Lloyd Markham for Bad Ideas\Chemicals (Parthian)
• Masande Ntshanga for The Reactive (Jacaranda)

The McKitterick Prize

The McKitterick Prize is awarded for a first novel by a writer over 40.

The McKitterick Prize Winner – Awarded £4,000

• Anietie Isong (photographer: Tom Pilston)
• Anietie Isong for Radio Sunrise (Jacaranda) 

The McKitterick Prize Runner-Up – Awarded £1,250

• Frances Maynard for The Seven Imperfect Rules of Elvira Carr (Pan Macmillan)

The Tom-Gallon Trust Award

The Tom-Gallon Trust Award is awarded for a short story by a writer who has had at least one short story accepted for publication.

Tom-Gallon Trust Award Winner - Awarded £1,000

• Chris Connolly for The Speed of Light and How it Cannot Help Us

Tom-Gallon Trust Award Runner-Up - Awarded £575

• Benjamin Myers for A Thousand Acres of English Soil

The Somerset Maugham Awards

The Somerset Maugham Awards (three writers each awarded £5250) are for published works of fiction, non-fiction or poetry by writers under 35, to enable them to enrich their work by gaining experience of foreign countries.

• Kayo Chingonyi for Kumakanda (Chatto & Windus) - poetry
• Fiona Mozley for Elmet (JM Originals) - novel
• Miriam Nash for All the Prayers in the House (Bloodaxe Books) - poetry

Eric Gregory Awards

Awarded for a collection of poems by a poet under 30 - seven poets each awarded £4050

• Zohar Atkins for System Baby
• Victoria Adukwei Bulley for Girl Being
• Jenna Clake for Fortune Cookie (Eyewear Publishing)
• Joseph Eastell for Blossom Boy Beta Test 
• Annie Katchinska for Sesame Powders
• Ali Lewis for Hotel
• Stephen Sexton for The animals, moon

The Cholmondeley Awards

Presented for a body of work by a poet - Five poets awarded £1680

• Vahni Capildeo
• Kate Clanchy
• Linton Kwesi Johnson
• Daljit Nagra
• Zoë Skoulding 

The Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography

Awarded £5,000

• Giles Tremlett for Isabella of Castile: Europe's First Great Queen (Bloomsbury)

The Travelling Scholarships

Awarded to British creative writers to enable them to keep in contact with writing colleagues abroad - Five writers each awarded £1575

• Jenn Ashworth
• Tash Aw
• Jessie Greengrass
• James Harpur
• Sudhir Hazareesingh