HWA Debut Crown Shortlist
Today marks the official announcement of the SHORTLIST for the Historical Writers Awards – the Debut Crown award ….
The Award:
“This award is for the best historical novel by a first-time fiction author of any nationality first published in the UK in English during the period 1st January 2016 – 31st March 2017”
The Judges:
If I thought reading and discussing all the books to find the longlist was going to be tricky, then getting the shortlist was even harder. There really were some gems in the longlist and there were heated discussions! Really deep discussions too mind, which took a very very long lunch, apple pie and several coffees. I’ve never been part of such a discussion about books and have only attended table discussions as an interpreter so this was a very pleasant surprise! Speaking my own words and chatting about the final 6….it was a tough call…but so much fun and a fascinating process!
The BookTrails:
Some were reviewed prior to their being in the awards but this has no bearing on reading them for the judging process. THE SHORTLIST!!
Mussolini’s Island – Sarah Day
The Solitary Woman of Shakespeare – James Terry
The Witchfinder’s Sister – Beth Underdown
Congratulations to everyone who made the shortlist. Six very good books but all very different…..which one would be your winner?
Read about the other shortlists here http://hwacrowns.co.uk/2017-shortlists/
