The Novella Awards at Axis Arts Centre, Crewe
Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor
Launched in 2014, The Novella Award – a partnership between Manchester Metropolitan and Liverpool John Moores University – aims to find the best up-and-coming writer of a previously unpublished short novel of 20,000 to 40,000 words. This event sees the announcement of the winner from the shortlist of four and the prize-giving ceremony will coincide with the launch of the Words at Play Festival at Axis, an ‘off the page’ celebration of writing.
The judge for the third annual award is author and internationally renowned performance poet Lucy English, who will be picking between no provenance by Jonathan Flieger, Amphibian by Christina Neuwirth, Ruin by Jacques Tsiantar and Wild by Joma West. Last year’s winner, The Harlequin by Nina Allan, received national coverage and was longlisted in the Best Novella category of the Saboteur Awards earlier this year, so it’s not to be sniffed at – nor is the £1,000 cash prize and publication by award-winning Scottish independent publisher Sandstone Press.
