Desmond Eliot Prize Shortlist- Tight Bookies Field

Only in Britain do people bet on the outcome of Literary Awards, those of us who read award listed books are the untapped betting niche seems. So, book clubs around the UK are in a complete tizz this week as to what to do with the betting kitty. Apparently the shortlist of three for the newish Desmond Eliot Prize (for a thought provoking page turner with pizzazz type of award) has the Bookmakers, William Hill, in a bit of a quandary, so tight is the field.

Tragic has always been in awe of the job Literary Award judges do but he was totally gobsmacked at the work load of poor Bookmaker William Hill's, Literary Award Form Judge who must have the brain the size of a planet. Tragic had visions of him or her in the early dawn light watching authors through binoculars on the downs, pouring over Nielsen's sales figures late into the night in the hope of picking the form book and reading shortlisted novels in between races.. Not so.

Graham Sharpe, William Hill's veteran director of media relations traditionally responsible for drawing up Booker prize odds for William Hill, once confessed his surprise at never having been asked to judge the prize, since he is "always treated as though he is a judge" by the media.

A reporter asked him last year asked him if he'd read Child 44 which was at quoted at short odds (1/2 on) last years Eliot. He replied, "Do you think I ride all the horses we quote for the Grand National?"

Fair call.

Child 44 didn't win by the way. Nobbled on the way to the gate? A Dick Francis novel in the wings perchance?

The implication is that the event is exciting enough to have a a punt on and therefore just that bit more legitimate and exciting. Shabby? Not in the least. We are only a moment away from the whole Man Booker judging process taking place down the straight at Epsom, authors, publishers, media, judges and all with Melvyn Bragg and Kate Adie in the commentary box. Just think of the television royalties.

Meanwhile, The contenders are:

Blackmoor by Edward Hogan - 5/4 Favourite

A Girl Made of Dust by Nathalie Abi-Ezzi - 7/4

The Rescue Man by Anthony Quinn - 2/1

All authors and judges will no doubt have to give urine samples for drug testing. With two Stallions and a Fillet (or is it Filly?) in contention the prevalent wisdom of the track is that in a field of three back the outsider.

The books, by the way, are all of a fine pedigree. Tragic particularly likes the chances, if the going is firm and the barrier draw is ok, of Edward Hogan's Blackmoor . Previously shortlisted for the Sunday Time Young Writer Award and the Dylan Thomas Prize .

The book centres around a small mining community and Edward says he chose this setting because he wanted to find out more about the place he grew up. It's a regional book, about the midlands and the north and what has happened to the mining communities since people have stopped mining. His split time-frame is combined with multiple narrative perspectives, which enable him to dig deep into his characters. He is aided by writing that is charged with a bite and passion harking back to his Northern forebears; D.H. Lawrence, most obviously, with a passing touch of Charlotte Brontë.

Go you good thing. 'AND THEY'RE OFF'.

Links to Blackwell Books in the UK. Tragic maintains a summary page about the award at Literary Awards UK. Official site link below.

The three novels shortlisted for The Desmond Elliott Prize 2009 are as follows:

The Desmond Elliott Prize 2009 panel of judges is chaired by Candida Lycett Green who is joined by former Literary Editor of The Independent on Sunday, Suzi Feay, and Rodney Troubridge of Waterstone's.

The three novels shortlisted for The Desmond Elliott Prize 2009 are as follows:

* Blackmoor by Edward Hogan (Simon & Schuster) ISBN: 9781847391261
Format: Paperback

A Shakespearian tragedy in the heart of the Derbyshire moors: a woman whose face doesn't fit; a child left without a mother; a love that lasts forever.

Beth is an albino, half blind, and given to looking at the world out of the corner of her eye. Her neighbours in the Derbyshire town of Blackmoor have always thought she was 'touched', and when a series of bizarre happenings shake the very foundations of the village, they are confirmed in their opinion that Beth is an ill omen. The neighbours say that Beth eats dirt from the flowerbeds, and that smoke rises from her lawn. By the end of the year, she is dead. More

'There's a subtle magic to Hogan's prose, and a passionate concern for the part of the world where this novel is based, which invites comparison with D H Lawrence – but that would be lazy. This novel ... has confidence, mystery and an entrancing sense of itself.' The Independent on Sunday

A Girl Made of Dust by Nathalie Abi-Ezzi (Fourth Estate)

Ten-year-old Ruba lives in a village outside Beirut. From her family home, she can see the buildings shimmering on the horizon and the sea stretched out beside them. She can also hear the rumble of the shelling - this is Lebanon in the 1980s and civil war is tearing the country apart.

Ruba, however, has her own worries. Her father hardly ever speaks and spends most of his days sitting in his armchair, avoiding work and family. Her elder brother, Naji, has started to spend his time with older boys - and some of them have guns.

When Ruba uncovers her father's secret, she starts a journey that takes her from childhood to the beginnings of adulthood. And she realises, as Israeli troops invade and danger comes ever closer, that she may not be able to keep her family safe. (read more)

'Captivating. A subtle, pertinent depiction of civilian life in the midst of bewildering conflict.' The Guardian

The Rescue Man by Anthony Quinn (Jonathan Cape)

Summer, 1939. Historian Tom Baines is at work on a study of Liverpool's architectural past. His mood, like the rest of the country's, is distracted by the ominous rumblings from Europe; if war should come, will the buildings and streets that he documents survive? Orphaned as a child and now approaching forty with no prospect of a family of his own, Baines is a man emotionally adrift. But his faltering project receives a boost when a photographer, Richard Tanqueray, and his wife Bella befriend him, and together they work against the clock of a rapidly contracting peacetime.

A further preoccupation takes hold when he begins to read the long-forgotten journals of a brilliant young Victorian architect, Peter Eames, a disciple of Ruskin who briefly flourished in Liverpool during the 1860s before his fortunes collapsed and his reputation fell into neglect (read more)

'Ambitiously conceived...perfect pitch when it comes to the prose of each period' The Observer

About the Award

The Desmond Elliott Prize is a new prize for a first novel written in English and published in the UK. Worth £10,000 to the winner, the prize is named after the literary agent and publisher, Desmond Elliott.

Charismatic, witty, and waspish, Elliott lived his life with sparkle. He drank only champagne, always crossed the Atlantic on Concorde and lunched at Fortnum and Mason. His office was in Mayfair and he had houses in St James’s and on Park Avenue. Desmond Elliott’s ethos to support new writers will live on in the shape of the prize.

When choosing the winner, a panel of 3 judges will look for a novel which creates a “buzz”, a book with “word of mouth” appeal. In addition, the judges will look for the following qualities:

* a novel which is a page-turner but which makes you pause for thought
* an intelligent book with broad appeal.