Goldsmiths Prize

{{Short description|Literary award for British and Irish novels}} {{For|other awards with similar names|Goldsmith Prize (disambiguation){{!}}Goldsmith Prize}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox award|name=The Goldsmiths Prize|presenter=Goldsmiths, University of London The ''New Statesman''|firstawarded=13 November 2013|location=United Kingdom and Ireland|sponsor=|reward=£10,000|awarded_for=Innovative or experimental novels}} The '''Goldsmiths Prize''' is a British literary award, founded in 2013 by Goldsmiths, University of London, in association with the ''New Statesman.''<ref>{{cite web|author=Alex Peake-Tomkinson|date=January 23, 2013|title=Goldsmiths launch £10,000 literature prize|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/9820523/Goldsmiths-launch-10000-literature-prize.html|work=The Telegraph|accessdate=24 January 2013}}</ref> It is awarded annually to a British or Irish piece of fiction that "breaks the mould or extends the possibilities of the novel form."<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=About: Goldsmiths Prize|url=https://www.gold.ac.uk/goldsmiths-prize/about/|access-date=2021-11-12|website=Goldsmiths, University of London|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thebookseller.com/news/goldsmiths-launches-%C2%A310000-literary-prize.html |title=Goldsmiths launches £10,000 literary prize |work=The Bookseller |author=Joshua Farrington |date=23 January 2013 |accessdate=24 January 2013}}</ref> It is limited to citizens and residents of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, and to novels published by presses based in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland. The winner receives £10,000.<ref name="guardian_winner_2021" />

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.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=The Goldsmiths Prize|url=https://www.gold.ac.uk/research/case-studies/the-goldsmiths-prize/|access-date=2021-11-12|website=Goldsmiths, University of London|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> 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."<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

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.

==Winners and shortlists== {| class="wikitable" |+Key |style="background:lightyellow|({{Blue ribbon}}) winner |- |shortlisted |} {| class="wikitable sortable" |+Shortlisted and winning books (2013–2024) !Year !Author !Novel !Publisher !Notes |- ! rowspan="6" |2025 |style="background:lightyellow"|{{blue ribbon}} CD Rose |style="background:lightyellow"|''We Live Here Now'' |style="background:lightyellow"|Melville House Publishing | rowspan="6" |The shortlist was announced on 2 October,<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Sarah Hall and Charlie Porter among writers on ‘genre-defying’ Goldsmiths prize shortlist |journal=The Guardian |last=Creamer |first=Ella |date=2025-10-02 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/oct/02/sarah-hall-and-charlie-porter-writers-goldsmiths-prize-shortlist |access-date=2025-10-03}}</ref> with the winner announced on 5 November.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=CD Rose awarded the 2025 Goldsmiths prize |journal=The Guardian |last=Loffhagen |first=Emma |date=2025-11-05 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/nov/05/cd-rose-awarded-2025-goldsmiths-prize |access-date=2025-11-07}}</ref> |- |Colwill Brown |''We Pretty Pieces of Flesh'' |Vintage |- |Yrsa Daley-Ward |''The Catch'' |Penguin |- |Sarah Hall |''Helm'' |Faber & Faber |- |Ben Pester |''The Expansion Project'' |Granta |- |Charlie Porter |''Nova Scotia House'' |Particular |- ! rowspan="6" |2024 |style="background:lightyellow"|{{blue ribbon}} Rachel Cusk |style="background:lightyellow"|''Parade'' |style="background:lightyellow"|Faber & Faber | rowspan="6" |The shortlist was announced on 2 October, with the winner announced on 6 November.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2024 Prize |url=https://www.gold.ac.uk/goldsmiths-prize/archive/prize-2024/ |access-date=2024-10-02 |website=Goldsmiths, University of London |language=en}}</ref> |- |Mark Bowles |''All My Precious Madness'' |Galley Beggar |- |Jonathan Buckley |''Tell'' |Fitzcaraldo |- |Neel Mukherjee |''Choice'' |Atlantic |- |Lara Pawson |''Spent Light'' |CB Editions |- |Han Smith |''Portraits at the Palace of Creativity and Wrecking'' |John Murray |- ! rowspan="6" |2023 |style="background:lightyellow"|{{blue ribbon}} Benjamin Myers |style="background:lightyellow"|''Cuddy'' |style="background:lightyellow"|Bloomsbury | rowspan="6" |The shortlist was announced on 4 October, with the winner announced on 8 November.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Goldsmiths Prize |url=https://www.gold.ac.uk/goldsmiths-prize/ |access-date=2023-11-09 |website=Goldsmiths, University of London |language=en}}</ref> |- |Amy Arnold |''Lori & Joe'' |Prototype |- |Kate Briggs |''The Long Form'' |Fitzcarraldo Editions |- |H. Gareth Gavin |''Never Was'' |Cipher Press |- |Richard Milward |''Man-Eating Typewriter'' |White Rabbit |- |Adam Thirlwell |''The Future Future'' |Cape |- ! rowspan="6" |2022 |style="background:lightyellow"|{{blue ribbon}} Natasha Soobramanien and Luke Williams |style="background:lightyellow"|''Diego Garcia'' |style="background:lightyellow"|Fitzcarraldo Editions | rowspan="6" |The shortlist was announced on 5 October, and the winner on 10 November.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ellis |first=Lizzie |title=Collaborative novel wins the Goldsmiths Prize 2022 |url=https://www.gold.ac.uk/news/goldsmiths-prize-2022-winner/ |access-date=2022-11-11 |website=Goldsmiths, University of London |language=en}}</ref> |- |Mona Arshi |''Somebody Loves You'' |And Other Stories |- |Sara Baume |''Seven Steeples'' |Tramp Press |- |Maddie Mortimer |''Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies'' |Picador |- |Helen Oyeyemi |''Peaces'' |Faber & Faber |- |Yara Rodrigues Fowler |''there are more things'' |Fleet |- ! rowspan="6" |2021 |style="background:lightyellow"|{{blue ribbon}} Isabel Waidner |style="background:lightyellow"|''Sterling Karat Gold'' |style="background:lightyellow"|Peninsula Press | rowspan="6" |The shortlist was announced on 6 October,<ref>{{cite web|author=Ellen Peirson-Hagger|date=6 October 2021|title=Goldsmiths Prize 2021 shortlist: The six most cutting-edge novelists writing today|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2021/10/goldsmiths-prize-2021-shortlist-the-six-most-cutting-edge-novelists-writing-today|access-date=8 October 2021|work=newstatesman.com}}</ref> and the winner on 10 November.<ref name="guardian_winner_2021">{{cite web|last1=Flood|first1=Alison|date=10 November 2021|title=Isabel Waidner wins Goldsmiths prize for 'mindbending' Sterling Karat Gold|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/nov/10/isabel-waidner-wins-goldsmiths-prize-for-mindbending-sterling-karat-gold|access-date=11 November 2021|website=The Guardian}}</ref> |- |Claire-Louise Bennett |''Checkout 19'' |Jonathan Cape |- |Natasha Brown |''Assembly'' |Hamish Hamilton |- |Keith Ridgway |''A Shock'' |New Directions |- |Leone Ross |''This One Sky Day'' |Faber and Faber |- |Rebecca Watson |''little scratch'' |Faber and Faber |- ! rowspan="6" |2020 |style="background:lightyellow"|{{blue ribbon}} M. John Harrison |style="background:lightyellow"|''The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again'' |style="background:lightyellow"|Gollancz | rowspan="6" |The shortlist was announced on 14 October,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Flood|first=Alison|date=14 October 2020|title=DBC Pierre's smartphone era novel leads Goldsmiths prize shortlist|language=en-GB|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/oct/14/dbc-pierres-smartphone-era-novel-leads-goldsmiths-prize-shortlist|access-date=19 October 2020|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> and the winner on 11 November.<ref>{{cite web|author=Alison Flood|date=11 November 2020|title='A literary masterpiece': M John Harrison wins Goldsmiths prize for innovative fiction|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/nov/11/a-literary-masterpiece-m-john-harrison-wins-goldsmiths-prize-for-innovative-fiction|work=The Guardian|accessdate=11 November 2020}}</ref> |- |Paul Griffiths |''Mr Beethoven'' |Henningham Family Press |- |Xiaolu Guo |''A Lover's Discourse'' |Chatto & Windus |- |DBC Pierre |''Meanwhile in Dopamine City'' |Faber |- |Monique Roffey |''The Mermaid of Black Conch'' |Peepal Tree Press |- |Anakana Schofield |''Bina'' |Fleet |- ! rowspan="6" |2019 |style="background:lightyellow"|{{blue ribbon}} Lucy Ellmann |style="background:lightyellow"|''Ducks, Newburyport'' |style="background:lightyellow"|Galley Beggar Press | rowspan="6" |The shortlist was announced on 2 October,<ref>{{cite web|author=Ellen Peirson-Hagger|date=2 October 2019|title=Small literary presses dominate the Goldsmiths Prize shortlist|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2019/10/small-literary-presses-dominate-goldsmiths-prize-shortlist|work=New Statesman|accessdate=2 October 2019}}</ref> and the winner on 13 November.<ref>{{cite web|author=Heloise Wood|date=13 November 2019|title=Lucy Ellman 'masterpiece' wins Goldsmiths Prize|url=https://www.thebookseller.com/news/lucy-ellman-goldsmiths-prize-ducks-newburyport-1113201|work=The Bookseller|accessdate=13 November 2019}}</ref> |- |Isabel Waidner |''We Are Made of Diamond Stuff'' |Dostoyevsky Wannabe |- |Vesna Main |''Good Day?'' |Salt |- |Amy Arnold |''Slip of a Fish'' |And Other Stories |- |Mark Haddon |''The Porpoise'' |Chatto & Windus |- |Deborah Levy |''The Man Who Saw Everything'' |Hamish Hamilton |- ! rowspan="6" |2018 |style="background:lightyellow"|{{blue ribbon}} Robin Robertson |style="background:lightyellow"|''The Long Take'' |style="background:lightyellow"|Picador | rowspan="6" |The shortlist was announced on 26 September,<ref>{{cite web|author=Adam Mars-Jones|date=26 September 2018|title=Novel senses of new: the 2018 Goldsmiths prize for fiction shortlist|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2018/sep/26/novel-senses-of-new-the-2018-goldsmiths-prize-for-fiction-shortlist|work=The Guardian|accessdate=26 September 2018}}</ref> and the winner on 14 November.<ref>{{cite web|author=Alison Flood|date=14 November 2018|title=Robin Robertson wins Goldsmiths prize for innovative fiction with The Long Take|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/nov/14/robin-robertson-wins-goldsmiths-prize-innovative-fiction-long-take|work=The Guardian|accessdate=20 November 2018}}</ref> |- |Rachel Cusk |''Kudos'' |Faber |- |Will Eaves |''Murmur'' |CB Editions |- |Guy Gunaratne |''In Our Mad and Furious City'' |Headline |- |Gabriel Josipovici |''The Cemetery in Barnes'' |Carcanet |- |Olivia Laing |''Crudo'' |Picador |- ! rowspan="6" |2017 |style="background:lightyellow"|{{blue ribbon}} Nicola Barker |style="background:lightyellow"|''H(A)PPY'' |style="background:lightyellow"|William Heinemann | rowspan="6" |The shortlist was announced on 27 September,<ref>{{cite web|author=Tom Gatti|date=2 November 2017|title=The Back Half: Goldsmiths Prize Shortlist Special|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2017/11/back-half-goldsmiths-prize-shortlist-special|work=New Statesman|accessdate=16 November 2017}}</ref> and the winner on 15 November 2017.<ref>{{cite web|author=Laura Harding|date=15 November 2017|title=Illuminated manuscript novel wins Goldsmiths Prize|url=https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/illuminated-manuscript-novel-wins-goldsmiths-prize-36324302.html|work=Independent|accessdate=16 November 2017}}</ref> |- |Sara Baume |''A Line Made by Walking'' |William Heinemann |- |Kevin Davey |''Playing Possum'' |Aaargh! Press |- |Jon McGregor |''Reservoir 13'' |Fourth Estate |- |Gwendoline Riley |''First Love'' |Granta |- |Will Self |''Phone'' |Viking |- ! rowspan="6" |2016 |style="background:lightyellow"|{{blue ribbon}} Mike McCormack |style="background:lightyellow"|''Solar Bones'' |style="background:lightyellow"|Tramp Press | rowspan="6" |The shortlist was announced on 28 September,<ref name="Goldsmiths Prize 2016 shortlist">{{cite web|last=Morgan|first=Tom|date=28 September 2016|title=Goldsmiths Prize 2016 shortlist - six works of fiction at its most novel|url=http://www.gold.ac.uk/news/goldsmiths-prize-2016-shortlist/|website=|publisher=Goldsmiths, University of London|accessdate=29 September 2016}}</ref> and the winner on 9 November.<ref name="solarbones">{{cite web|last1=Armitstead|first1=Claire|author-link=Claire Armitstead|date=9 November 2016|title=Single sentence novel wins Goldsmiths prize for books that 'break the mould'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/nov/09/single-sentence-novel-mike-mccormack-solar-bones-wins-goldsmiths-prize-books|website=The Guardian|accessdate=14 November 2016}}</ref> |- |Deborah Levy |''Hot Milk'' |Hamish Hamilton |- |Sarah Ladipo Manyika |''Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun'' |Cassava Republic Press |- |Anakana Schofield |''Martin John'' |And Other Stories |- |Eimear McBride |''The Lesser Bohemians'' |Faber and Faber |- |Rachel Cusk |''Transit'' |Jonathan Cape |- ! rowspan="6" |2015 |style="background:lightyellow"|{{blue ribbon}} Kevin Barry |style="background:lightyellow"|''Beatlebone'' |style="background:lightyellow"|Canongate | rowspan="6" |The shortlist was announced on 1 October,<ref name="2015shortlist">{{cite web|last1=Morgan|first1=Tom|date=1 October 2015|title=Goldsmiths Prize shortlist 2015|url=http://www.gold.ac.uk/news/goldsmiths-prize-shortlist-2015/|website=Goldsmiths|accessdate=19 October 2015}}</ref> and the winner on 11 November.<ref name="goldsmiths2105">{{cite web|last1=Flood|first1=Alison|date=11 November 2015|title=Novel about John Lennon and primal screaming wins Goldsmiths prize|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/nov/11/novel-about-john-lennon-and-primal-screaming-wins-goldsmiths-prize|website=The Guardian|accessdate=13 November 2015}}</ref> All the authors on the shortlist were men.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Caines|first=Michael|title=Not the Goldsmiths Prize?|url=https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/not-the-goldsmiths-prize/|access-date=2021-11-12|website=TLS|language=en-GB}}</ref> |- |Richard Beard |''Acts of the Assassins'' |Vintage |- |Magnus Mills |''The Field of the Cloth of Gold'' |Bloomsbury Publishing |- |Tom McCarthy |''Satin Island'' |Jonathan Cape |- |Max Porter |''Grief Is the Thing with Feathers'' |Faber and Faber |- |Adam Thirlwell |''Lurid & Cute'' |Jonathan Cape |- ! rowspan="6" |2014 |style="background:lightyellow"|{{blue ribbon}} Ali Smith |style="background:lightyellow"|''How to Be Both'' |style="background:lightyellow"|Penguin | rowspan="6" |The shortlist was announced on 1 October,<ref name="newstatesman">{{cite web|date=1 October 2014|title=The shortlist for the 2014 Goldsmiths Prize has been announced|url=http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2014/09/shortlist-2014-goldsmiths-prize-has-been-announced|website=New Statesman|accessdate=2 October 2014}}</ref> and the winner on 12 November.<ref name="bbcsmith">{{cite web|date=13 November 2014|title=Ali Smith wins Goldsmiths Prize for How to be Both|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-30021863|website=BBC News|accessdate=13 November 2014}}</ref> |- |Rachel Cusk |''Outline'' |Vintage |- |Will Eaves |''The Absent Therapist'' |CB Editions |- |Howard Jacobson |''J'' |Jonathan Cape |- |Paul Kingsnorth |''The Wake'' |Unbound Publishing |- |Zia Haider Rahman |''In the Light of What We Know'' |Picador |- ! rowspan="6" |2013 |style="background:lightyellow"|{{blue ribbon}} Eimear McBride |style="background:lightyellow"|''A Girl Is a Half-formed Thing'' |style="background:lightyellow"|Galley Beggar Press | rowspan="6" |The shortlist was announced on 1 October,<ref>{{cite web|author=|date=1 October 2013|title=Jim Crace makes Goldsmiths Prize shortlist|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-24347367|work=BBC News|accessdate=20 October 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=1 October 2013|title=Shortlist 2013|url=http://www.gold.ac.uk/goldsmiths-prize/shortlist/|url-status=dead|publisher=Goldsmiths Prize|accessdate=20 October 2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005231624/http://www.gold.ac.uk/goldsmiths-prize/shortlist/|archivedate=5 October 2013}}</ref> and the winner on 13 November.<ref>{{cite web|author=|date=13 November 2013|title=Debut novelist Eimear McBride wins £10,000 prize|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/london/debut-novelist-eimear-mcbride-wins-10000-prize-8937895.html|work=London Evening Standard|accessdate=13 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=13 November 2013|title=Eimear McBride wins inaugural Goldsmiths Prize for boldly original fiction|url=http://www.gold.ac.uk/news/pressrelease/?releaseID=1041|url-status=dead|publisher=Goldsmith Prize website|accessdate=13 November 2013|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131116051137/http://www.gold.ac.uk/news/pressrelease/?releaseID=1041|archivedate=16 November 2013}}</ref> |- |Philip Terry |''tapestry'' |Reality Street |- |Jim Crace |''Harvest'' |Picador |- |Lars Iyer |''Exodus'' |Melville House |- |David Peace |''Red or Dead'' |Faber and Faber |- |Ali Smith |''Artful'' |Penguin Books |}

==References== {{Reflist|30em}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Goldsmiths Prize winners}} *[http://www.gold.ac.uk/goldsmiths-prize/ Goldsmiths Prize], official website. *[http://www.newstatesman.com/cultural-capital/2013/01/new-literary-prize-celebrating-boldly-original-fiction A new literary prize celebrating boldly original fiction], ''New Statesman'' announcement of award.

Category:Goldsmiths Prize Category:British fiction awards <--! Home country and scope (1) of award --> Category:Irish literary awards <--! Scope (2) of award (UK and Ireland) --> Category:Awards established in 2013 Category:2013 establishments in the United Kingdom Category:Goldsmiths, University of London