The Rathbones Folio Prize 2020 Judges
Paul Farley
Paul Farley (chair) was born in Liverpool and studied at the Chelsea School of Art. He has published four collections of poetry, and also written non-fiction books, including Edgelands (with Michael Symmons Roberts), as well as editing a selection of John Clare’s poetry. A Fellow of the Royal Soci- ety of Literature and a frequent broadcaster, he has received numerous awards, including Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year, the Whitbread Poetry Award and the E.M. Forster Award from the American Academy of Arts & Letters. His latest collection, The Mizzy, is published this year.
Nikita Lalwani
Nikita Lalwani was born in Rajasthan, India, and raised in Cardiff, Wales. Her first novel, Gifted, was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, shortlisted for the Costa Award and won the Desmond Elliot Prize (after which she donated her prize money to the human rights organisation, Liberty). Her next novel, The Village, was also widely acclaimed, and her new novel, You People, will be published by Viking Penguin in June 2020. She is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
Ross Raisin
Ross Raisin was born in West Yorkshire. His first novel, God’s Own Country, was published in 2008 and was shortlisted for nine literary awards, including the Guardian First Book Award and the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. In 2009 Ross Raisin was named the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year and in 2013 he was selected as one of Granta’s Best of Young British writers. Two more celebrated novels,Waterline and A Natural, have followed. Ross is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
A Bright Future for the Rathbones Folio Prize
We’re delighted to announce an expanded partnership with our sponsors Rathbones Investment Management, which secures the future of the Prize, Mentorships and Sessions until at least 2023. The renewed and significantly increased sponsorship by Rathbones not only enables us to step up our charitable objectives, it also means that the value of the Prize has increased, with this year’s winner set to receive a cheque for £30,000.
The Rathbones Folio Prize Previous Winners
The Winner of the Rathbones Folio Prize 2019: Raymond Antrobus, for ‘The Perseverance’
‘The Perseverance’ by Raymond Antrobus wins the 2019 Rathbones Folio Prize. Published by the small press Penned in the Margins – ranges across history and continents to explore issues as wide-ranging as the poet’s diagnosis with deafness as a child, mixed heritage experience, masculinity, and his beloved father’s alcoholism and later decline into dementia and death. Last month, the book, which contains a fierce challenge of Ted Hughes’s description of deaf children, was given the Ted Hughes Award. It was shortlisted for the Griffin Prize, the Jhalak Prize, and the Somerset Maugham Award. Read the full press release here.
The Winner of the Rathbones Folio Prize 2018: Richard Lloyd Parry, for Ghosts of The Tsunami
Richard Lloyd Parry wins the 2018 Rathbones Folio Prize with Ghosts of The Tsunami (Jonathan Cape), a book that has “depth and reach to close the gaps between other nations, other cultures”. Read the full press release here.
2019 Rathbones Folio Prize Winner
The winner of the Rathbones Folio Prize 2019 is Raymond Antrobus, for ‘The Perseverance’. In a first for the Prize, Alice Jolly was named runner up, for ‘Mary Ann Sate, Imbecile’.
About The Academy
The character and qualities of the prize are shaped by The Folio Prize Academy, an international group of people, primarily writers and critics, who are immersed in the world of books.
The Academy will play a decisive role in selecting titles to be considered for the shortlist, and each year…
Key Dates 2020
See here for the How To Write a Book In A Day event on 22 March 2020.
See here for Raymond Antrobus’ 2020 University tour.
25 February 2020 the Rathbones Folio Prize shortlist will be announced.
23 March 2020 will be the Rathbones Folio Prize ceremony in which the 2020 winner will be revealed.
Follow the Rathbones Folio Prize Twitter to stay up to date.
