2020 Goldsmiths Prize Speculation

[James]

What are the chances that the judges came up with a predominately (all?) white shortlist, then read or saw Evaristo’s essay and decided they just could not go with the list they had, and are now scrambling to figure out what to do?

[Paul]

That certainly crossed my mind particular given how powerful Evaristo's essay was and the timing of the first postponement.

Although it may be something else entirely (an indisposed judge, Wi-Fi issues, some eligibility questions, a book the judges called in and the author isn't keen to enter, a 2019 Booker style rogue jury e.g. a shortlist of 12 or 3 they are reluctant to change to 6, a Booker style clash with something else on the book PR calendar).

So when the list comes out and if it is as diverse as it should be on pure merit alone, given some of the wonderful books out this year, I worry people may assume there is some tokenism.

Overall, I have to say the prize really has made a mess of this by their silence and the fact that they seem to hope no one notices the date keeps slipping.

[Sam]

I think they are just trying to torture Mookse and Gripes members.

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

The only problem with most of those alternate theories is that the prize tweeted pictures of the judges meeting in the 21st September saying they were deciding the shortlist and the next day one of the judges joined in some light hearted remarks in the meeting and commented to someone desperate to hear the results, that they could not actually reveal the list until 30th September (the date of the lecture) .

[Paul]

Yes that is my worry. The shortlist was clearly chosen.

Doesn’t rule out the clash with a celebrity autobiography of great interest to the market in another country though.

Or indeed that the shortlist chosen was rejected by the prize for too few/many/ineligible books. Perhaps they rebelled against the Goldsmiths exclusion rule for example.

[But_i_thought_]

Derek wrote: "Just finished Meena Kandasamy's book. Damn. It's one of those books you finish and just think, I wish I wrote that.

And yeah, that was my thinking too. But to be fair to the prize, publishers don'..."

Hi Derek! I didn't know you were following M&G. :) I hope to see your latest book on the Goldsmiths Prize list - when they eventually release it!!

[Robert]

I guess the advantage is that the next day the Gordon Burn prize winner will be announced

[James]

Don’t tell them that Robert, they’ll probably put it off another week

[Paul]

James wrote: "Don’t tell them that Robert, they’ll probably put it off another week"

:-)

[Robert]

James wrote: "Don’t tell them that Robert, they’ll probably put it off another week"

Or Gordon Burn judges will move the date

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

Got my copy of the New Statesman today and struck me that this is not great for them either - they normally run 1 Q&A per week with a shortlisted author (about their book, and how they feel about literary innovation and the prize) between shortlist and winner announcement.

[Emmeline]

Vesna wrote: "I don't have a twitter account but would have gladly let them know that The Mookse and the Gripes group is their best free advertisement. It's through the discussions and reviews of its members here that I have learned more about the Goldsmiths."

Completely. I knew the kinds of books I liked before finding this group, but I didn't always know where to find them.

[Areeb]

Derek wrote: "Just finished Meena Kandasamy's book. Damn. It's one of those books you finish and just think, I wish I wrote that.

And yeah, that was my thinking too. But to be fair to the prize, publishers don'..."

Meena Kandasamy is absolutely brilliant! She is easily my favourite writer of all time and I really admire her work. I would highly recommend When I Hit You, the book whose reception led to Exquisite Cadavers, in case you haven't read it already. Her debut, The Gypsy Goddess, is magnificent as well.

[Paul]

Derek wrote: "And yeah, that was my thinking too. But to be fair to the prize, publishers don't publish a lot of writers of colour who venture into the realms of experimental fiction. So they may need to bend the rules a bit."

In Isabel Waidner's anthology Liberating the Canon: An Anthology of Innovative Literature, they also made a plea for liberating the focus from novels, and that the "intersections" where much interesting writing is happening are intersections of form, as well as of race/gender/class etc.

Not sure quite how I feel about that as in a way it could actually be seen as conceding the field of the novel to the "white middle-class patriarchy" (their words, which are very close to Evaristo's).

Although in terms of the jury needing to bend the rules a bit this year, I genuinely don't think there are six better experimental fiction novels this year than your book, Kandasamy's and Mermaid of the Black Conch.

[Areeb]

Neil wrote: "Yes, I would go for Only A Lodger... as well but I am not sure the publisher will have submitted it. There were very few reviews of it and I was told that is because the publisher doesn’t send out ..."

While Seagull is one of my favourite indie presses, they don't really do extensive publicity of their books so the only way to get to know about them is by regularly checking the website. Their catalogue is filled with gems and the right kind of marketing can really do wonders for them.

I only came to know of Only a Lodger because I follow Main on Twitter and she was looking for people to review the book back in August. I had showed interest and then promptly forgot about it. A copy from Seagull unexpectedly arrived mid-September. I finally started it last night and I am quite loving it so far. It does strike me as perfect Goldsmiths material but then, as you and others say, I don't think Seagull would have submitted it.

[Paul]

Yes it was rather sad to see Vesna Main actually pleading for people to review her book and by that she meant bloggers not just the mainstream press.

There are currently 3 written reviews on Goodreads and 1 more star rating, and two of those are Neil and I.

[Areeb]

Paul wrote: "Yes it was rather sad to see Vesna Main actually pleading for people to review her book and by that she meant bloggers not just the mainstream press.

There are currently 3 written reviews on Goodr..."

I was saddened by it too. She had come on my radar after her shortlisting last year although I am yet to read Good Day as it is not locally available and I cannot afford to have it imported. I cannot help but notice that all four ratings for Only a Lodger are a full five stars too. Now if only it could gather more readers.

Seagull certainly does send out review copies without much issue, but only if you go and ask them. They have been very nice to me these past few months. But I don't know whether they even have a dedicated publicist who chases after mainstream platforms for plug-ins and reviews. I certainly don't see them around much, especially in the case of new releases. As it is, indie presses are overshadowed and it's tragic to see the authors not get their due.

I keep coming across your reviews (and that of other group members like Neil, Hugh and GY) on a majority of my reading, especially the stuff I end up loving. So a positive review from any of you has sort of become a marker of quality for me, haha!

[Ang]

Welcome, Areeb. Nice to have you here with us.

[WndyJW]

I loved The Mermaid of Black Conch: A Love Story, but I don’t see how it bent many rules. That Reminds Me, was much more innovative, telling a story through memories of different characters, and the writing was beautiful and spare. Apeirogon and Love and Other Thought Experiments were also creative in form.

[But_i_thought_]

In terms of other eligibles, how about Little Scratch by Rebecca Watson? It has been described as "Grief is the Thing with Features" meets "Ducks, Newburyport" and charts a day in the life of the narrator as she grapples with anxiety and memories of an assault.

Here, a preview of the text (see photo):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-re...

[Paul]

Looks very interesting. I think (per publisher’s website and author’s Twitter feed) UK publication is January although out in August in US so one for next year’s list in that case.

[Robert]

Thanks for that!!!! On my to read list

[But_i_thought_]

Paul wrote: "Looks very interesting. I think (per publisher’s website and author’s Twitter feed) UK publication is January although out in August in US so one for next year’s list in that case."

Thank you for the explanation!

[Areeb]

I just finished Only a Lodger... and Hardly That by Vesna Main. It was challenging in the beginning and chapter one required a good deal of attention and careful reading. But by the end, I was completely in awe of Vesna Main. What an absolutely magnificent gem of a book! Like Neil says in his review, it is definitely a work that will reward rereadings. What a shame if it doesn't make the shortlist this year, especially if it hasn't been submitted in the first place.

[Cristiano]

Areeb wrote: "I just finished Only a Lodger... and Hardly That by Vesna Main. It was challenging in the beginning and chapter one required a good deal of attention and careful reading. But by the end, I was comp..."

I actually had a chat with the publishers. They would be happy for any online review, so if you can please leave your reviews of the book online.
They also told me that they have submitted the book to various prizes, but so far been unsuccessful. Maybe the Goldsmith will be the one.

My book is arriving soon and I will read it first thing.

[Areeb]

Cristiano wrote: "Areeb wrote: "I just finished Only a Lodger... and Hardly That by Vesna Main. It was challenging in the beginning and chapter one required a good deal of attention and careful reading. But by the e..."

I had already decided to write a long-form review for the book when it unexpectedly arrived in the mail. I will do a short one for Goodreads and Instagram (which is my primary platform) as usual and post it in a few hours. The long one will understandably take time to write and will go on The Book Slut.

It is great to know that they have been submitting it! I was planning on asking them myself. Fingers crossed it makes the Goldsmiths list. It certainly deserves it.

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

So far today no change to the shortlist date on the website (ie today) but radio silence from their Twitter feed (they really need to get some advice on social media from the Women’s Prize).

[Paul]

I wouldn’t mind so much if the social media account was generally inactive. But a couple of weeks ago they were actively tweeting and retweeting comments on Evaristo’s lecture and at the same time studiously ignoring any tweets on the timing of the prize shortlist. That’s what’s off about this, they seemed to have hoped no one would notice that they’d changed the date.

[Hugh, Active moderator]

What are the odds on another postponement?

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

Low I would say Hugh as they have at least started liking some tweets speculating on the shortlist announcement today (including one from Paul).

[Paul]

Yes looks like it is happening given the retweet machine is in action. Presumably announcement by Twitter or press release though - doesn't seem to be an event scheduled. (To be fair it is normally tagged on for 2 minutes at the end of the lecture - last year I think they just put a slide up)

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

Prize just confirmed shortlist will be announced at 8PM today

[Paul]

They didn't say what time zone though :-)

[Jonathan]

Paul wrote: "OK here are some contenders - and working a little on the slightly incestuous nature of the prize in past years. ..."

A late contender for the 2020 listing from me

Here Is the Beehive

if you liked Robin Robertson's The Long Take (which won the prize), then you might like Sarah Crossan. Written in a Robertson/Evaristo verse style.

[Sam]

I'm not a usual contributor to the Goldmith's discussion, but this year may be different with several books discussed as possible either read or waiting. One of those books was Summer and this seems the last time to discuss it as a possibility.
I've read the Goldmith's prize as a vehicle for intentional elements that make a novel, novel.
What about perhaps unintentional elements? Are the given equal weight? For example, in Summer, there seemed to be an authorial intrusion IMO, that wasn't as apparent in the earlier novels and may have reflected authorial anxiety over contemporary events during the writing. I had intended on discussing this during any upcoming discussion on Summer and the whole series, but I am curious if this reflected a novelty in the novel that would qualify it for Goldmith's contention since the anxiety I perceived may not have been intentional as of other examples.

[Paul]

Thanks Jonathan - looks interesting and I've added to the listopia.

Sam - what did you see as different with Summer to the others in the series? I rather took the whole quartet as driven by authorial anxiety over contemporary events.

[Sam]

Paul wrote: "Thanks Jonathan - looks interesting and I've added to the listopia.

Sam - what did you see as different with Summer to the others in the series? I rather took the whole quartet as driven by author..."

Paul without going into great detail until there is a more appropriate discussion of the novel, I perceived a little less control over that anxiety in Summer, than in previous books. Also I thought I saw more reactive intrusion in reference to political and Covid related remarks. If we get into a discussion in the future, I will try and use more direct quotes, but for now I'll state, it was my perception, that in Summer, they seemed more related to author, than the quartet structure as a whole, if that makes sense.

[Paul]

Well we had been discussing the quartet on the Ali Smith thread so if it doesn't make the Goldsmiths tonight then perhaps we should pick up there.

[Sam]

Paul wrote: "Well we had been discussing the quartet on the Ali Smith thread so if it doesn't make the Goldsmiths tonight then perhaps we should pick up there."

I agree and will bring the point up there if Summer is not picked.

[Paul]

Monique Roffey and her agent had been liking tweets today when I picked her for the list - so I suspected she might feature

[Gumble's Yard - Golden Reviewer]

Yes I had observed exactly the same.

[Areeb]

The shortlist is out! And Roffey did make it.

[Hugh, Active moderator]

I will close this thread now that we know the shortlist - please use the General Discussion thread