our book is up for a prize maybe!

we found out recently that our book Poor Artists has been longlisted for the Gordon Burn prizeEEEeeee ahhhhhh.

the 12 books

• Headshot by Rita Bullwinkel (Daunt Originals)

• Prairie, Dresses, Art, Other by Danielle Dutton (Prototype)

• The Strangers: Five Extraordinary Black Men and the Worlds That Made Them by Ekow Eshun (Hamish Hamilton)

• Ootlin by Jenni Fagan (Hutchinson Heinemann)

• Mrs Jekyll by Emma Glass (CHEERIO)

• I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning by Keiran Goddard (Abacus)

• White Terror: A True Story of Murder, Bombings and Germany’s Far Right by Jacob Kushner (Mudlark)

• Poor Artists by Gabrielle de la Puente and Zanina Muhammed (The White Pube) (Particular Books)

• Only Here, Only Now by Tom Newlands (Phoenix)

• The Lasting Harm: Witnessing the Trail of Ghislaine Maxwell by Lucia Osborne-Crowley (4th Estate)

• England is Mine by Nicolas Padamsee (Serpent’s Tail)

• The Horse by Willy Vlautin (Faber & Faber)

“The £10,000 Gordon Burn Prize celebrates writing across all genres including biography, memoir, novels, and short story collections. It recognises exceptional writing which has an unconventional perspective, style or subject matter and often defies easy categorisation. It celebrates literary outliers and daring and experimental work that often speaks to broader societal issues.” so that’s cool

idk what will come of it. I am trying to enjoy it without believing in awards too obediently, all the while knowing money and a writing retreat would do a world of good for my life right now. It is nice to be given a reading list of stuff I will probably enjoy as well. So all in all, feels good, feels nice, feels funny. My boyfriend said it is the most proud he has been of me in this entire book process haha so i am taking that as personal achievement to heart even if we never make the shortlist :)