Four Irish authors have been longlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize – Sara Baume’s memoir Handiwork and three debuts: Elaine Feeney’s As You Were, Doireann Ní Ghríofa’s A Ghost In the Throat and Patrick Freyne’s OK, Let’s Do Your Stupid Idea.
The £30,000 prize rewards the best work of literature of the year, regardless of form. This year’s judges are London-based Irish author and editor Sinéad Gleeson, TS Eliot Prize-winning poet Roger Robinson, and novelist and short story writer Jon McGregor.
Also longlisted are Indelicacy by Amina Cain, How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang, Poor by Caleb Femi, In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado, Just Us by Claudia Rankine, Booker Prize winner Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart, The Actual by Inua Ellams, English Pastoral by James Rebanks, The Appointment by Katharina Volckmer, The Pink Line: Journeys Across the World of Queer Frontiers by Mark Gevisser, Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake, Costa Novel Award winner The Mermaid of Black Conch by Monique Roffey, The Geez by Nii Ayikwei Parkes, My Darling from the Lions by Rachel Long, Strangers by Rebecca Tamás and RENDANG by Will Harris.
The shortlist will be announced on February 10th and the winner on March 24th.
