The Desmond Elliot Prize 2012

Posted on July 4, 2012 in Uncategorized

On Thursday 28 June, SYP Treasurer Ella Kahn and I were lucky enough to be invited to attend the award presentation of the 2012 Desmond Elliot Prize as representatives of the SYP. The prize, now in its fifth year, awards the writer of a debut novel written in English with £10,000 to help them boost their career.

The ceremony took place in the lush surroundings of the drawing room of Fortnum and Mason – a venue insisted on by the late founder of the prize, charismatic publisher Desmond Elliot, for whom the lavish store in Piccadilly was his ‘local shop’. More used to shopping in Tesco myself, I was delighted by the free-flowing champagne and delicious canapés, but even more delighted to be surrounded by authors, agents and publishers all with a passion for great books. As a young writer myself, I was extremely encouraged to see so much support being given to new writing.

The three books on this year’s shortlist were Grace McCleen’s The Land of Decoration, Patrick McGuiness’s The Last Hundred Days, and Rachel Joyce’s The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. McCleen’s and Joyce’s novels were both already on this year’s Waterstones 11 list of promising young novelists, which significantly boosted their profiles. After an hour of mingling, lead judge Sam Llewellyn announced the winner as The Land of Decoration. It is described in the press release as ‘unlike anything you have ever read’ and ‘a story that is simultaneously multi-layered and absolutely compelling’.

The novel follows the story of Judith McPherson, a ten-year-old girl being brought up in an unconventional Christian community, which causes her to be bullied at school.To cope with this she creates a miniature world in her bedroom called the ‘Land of Decoration’, becoming so absorbed in this world she believes she can use it to cause her own real-life ‘miracles’. Through Judith’s childish narrative McCleen explores a complex web of much darker issues, such as the earlier death of Judith’s mother casting a shadow over the household. The novel is based on McCleen’s own experience of being brought up in a fundamentalist religion which allowed her little contact with the outside world.

McCleen gave a very humble and genuine speech; she was so sure she wasn’t going to win, she said, that she hadn’t prepared anything to say. She plans to write two further novels, and the money from the prize will be invaluable in supporting her. She also praised the other shortlisted books, leaving me eager to read them all. As well as being rather glamorous, the evening inspired me to go home and write myself. I’m also grateful that my involvement in the SYP gave me the opportunity to attend such an exclusive event and mingle with industry experts. I hope that, as I pursue my career in publishing, there will be more champagne and canapés in store!