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Desmond Elliott prize selects trio

22.05.08 Anna Richardson

Tom Rob Smith’s thriller Child 44 (Simon & Schuster), Nikita Lalwani’s Gifted (Viking) and John Walsh’s Sunday at the Cross Bones (Fourth Estate), are the three novels in contention for the inaugural Desmond Elliott Prize.

The £10,000 prize is named in honour of literary agent and publisher Desmond Elliott, who died in 2003, and celebrates “sparkling new fiction”. It was set up last September to with the intention of finding “a first novel which is intelligent with broad appeal”. According to organisers, the three shortlisted books, which were whittled down from a 11-strong longlist, reflect the purpose of the prize: “to highlight first novels which are page-turners with strong word-of-mouth appeal”.

The chair of the judges is author Penny Vincenzi, who is joined on the panel by Tatler editor Geordie Greig and author and journalist Cristina Odone. Vincenzi said: “These three books are true page-turners, they are all intelligent and thought-provoking, and they cover a very broad range. And all three have that crucial quality for a successful book—word-of-mouth appeal.”

Retailers supporting the prize include Bertrams, Amazon, Gardners and Waterstone’s, and the winner will be announced on 26th June.

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