Last summer, Terry Pratchett and Transworld Publishers announced the “Terry Pratchett Anywhere but Here, Anywhen but Now First Novel Prize” for new authors, offering as a prize a contract with a £20,000 advance (see this article).
Transworld tells us “since the deadline for submissions on 31 December 2010, the team have spent many hours reading, reporting, and discussing the over 500 entries that were submitted.” Now they’re releasing the shortlist, in alphabetical order:
Postponing Armageddon by Adele Abbott
The Platinum Ticket by Dave Beynon
Half Sick of Shadows by David Logan
Apocalypse Cow by Michael Logan
Lun by Andrew Salomon
The Coven at Callington by Shereen Vedam
They note “the six shortlisted books cover a breadth of topics and sub genres, imagination, and alternate worlds. Each shortlisted entry was chosen for their skillful writing, vast imaginative powers, and ability to tell a good story.”
The winner will be judged by Sir Terry Pratchett, Tony Robinson, Michael Rowley (from Waterstone’s), Marianne Velmans (Publishing Director of Doubleday), and Simon Taylor (Editorial Director at Transworld Publishers). The winner will be announced by Pratchett at a party on 31 May.