| The Goldsmiths Prize | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Innovative or experimental novels |
| Location | United Kingdom and Ireland |
| Presented by | Goldsmiths, University of London The New Statesman |
| Reward(s) | £10,000 |
| First awarded | 13 November 2013 |
| Website | https://www.gold.ac.uk/goldsmiths-prize/  |
The Goldsmiths Prize is a British literary award, founded in 2013 by Goldsmiths, University of London, in association with the New Statesman.[1] It is awarded annually to a piece of fiction that "breaks the mould or extends the possibilities of the novel form."[2][3] It is limited to citizens and residents of the United Kingdom and Ireland, and to novels published by presses based in the United Kingdom or Ireland. The winner receives £10,000.[4]
Tim Parnell of the Goldsmiths English department conceived and runs the prize, inspired by his research into Laurence Sterne and other eighteenth-century writers, like Denis Diderot, who experimented with the novel form.[5][2] The prize "casts its net wider than most other prizes" and intends to celebrate "creative daring," but resists the phrase "experimental fiction," because it implies "an eccentric deviation from the novel’s natural concerns, structures and idioms."[2][5]
To date, Rachel Cusk is the author best represented on the prize's shortlists, having been shortlisted four times for Outline (2014), Transit (2016), Kudos (2018), and Parade (2024). Nine authors have been shortlisted twice: Amy Arnold, Sara Baume, Will Eaves, Deborah Levy, Eimear McBride, Anakana Schofield, Ali Smith, Adam Thirwell, and Isabel Waidner.
- ^ Alex Peake-Tomkinson (23 January 2013). "Goldsmiths launch £10,000 literature prize". The Telegraph. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- ^ a b c "About: Goldsmiths Prize". Goldsmiths, University of London. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ Joshua Farrington (23 January 2013). "Goldsmiths launches £10,000 literary prize". The Bookseller. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
guardian_winner_2021was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b "The Goldsmiths Prize". Goldsmiths, University of London. Retrieved 12 November 2021.