Historical Fiction- HWA Debut Crown Awards
Historical Fiction- HWA Debut Crown Awards
I am so happy right now. I’ve very proud and honoured to have been asked to be a judge on the panel for the HWA Debut Crown Awards. This means reading a list of LOTS of books, all of those sent in by publishers and then picking a long list, short list and then ultimate winner.
I’ve been a judge for a few years now and it is always a treat and honour to be asked back. I LOVE historical fiction and read it all the time. To be given a long list of books and asked to read them… and then discuss them….well yes please!
Last year’s longlist:
The Animals of Lockwood Manor
Setting – Gothic creepy house in the country filled with stuffed animals.
The Lost Ones
Setting: Gothic Greyswick Manor
The Book of Echoes
Setting: Brixton and Lagos
The Confessions of Frannie Langton
Setting: A court house for the most part
American Spy
Setting: the FBI from the inside
The Doll Factory
Setting – A Doll Emporium
Before the pandemic we used to have nice judging lunches in London and of course the ceremony was always a joy to attend. Sadly this is all going to be online again as I love meeting authors and seeing the winner’s face when the announcement is made. However, talking about books is always a joy and the excitement of the entire reading journey is always the same.
HISTORICAL FICTION ON THE BOOKTRAIL
The books are already coming in from publishers and I’m reading them secretly behind closed doors. We can’t reveal what is coming in of course but I am excited let me tell you.
A real life book event
PUBLISHERS……
If you want to submit a book ENTER HERE
Submissions for the Crown Awards 2021 are now open!
The 2021 Crown Awards (Debut, Gold and Non-Fiction) are for full length books published for the first time in English in the UK between the 1 April 2020 – 31st March 2021. For fiction, the bulk of the narrative of the work submitted must take place at least thirty-five years prior to publication. For non-fiction, the key events must have taken place, or the subject have been primarily active at least thirty-five years prior to publication.
Awards Timeline
Nominations close: 30th April 2021
Longlists announced: 11 August 2021
Shortlists announced: 5 October 2021
Awards made: 24 November 2021
“We plan to hold the 2021 ceremony in St Ethelburga’s Church in Bishopsgate, but of course this will depend on what is safe and practical at that time. The safety of our members, authors, publishers, agents, judges, bloggers, booksellers and friends remains our top priority, and if that means the Crowns Ceremony remains an online celebration only, so be it. We still want to play our part in celebrating the brilliant historical writing, fiction and non-fiction, published in the UK and its ability to engage, illuminate, entertain and inform legions of readers.”
Meet the Judges of the 2021 Crowns
Look forward to reading more and more historical fiction and I will put some of them on this site once we announce the long and shortlists!
Hope we can get thrones and crowns again this year 😉
Susan x
