Five authors are in the running for the Royal Society of Literature’s Christopher Bland Prize, awarded to a debut author over the age of 50.
This is the second year for the award, which is named after a British businessman who published his first novel, Ashes in the Wind, when he was 76.
Authors shortlisted for the prize include Anne Griffin for her novel When All Is Said, about a curmudgeonly Irish octogenarian, and Michele Kirsch for Clean, a memoir about Valium addiction.
Stephen Morris made the shortlist with Black Tea, an autobiography about his life in Russia, as did David Nott for War Doctor: Surgery on the Front Line, the physician’s memoir that a reviewer for Kirkus called a “series of gripping and fascinating medical stories.”
Rounding out the shortlist was Celia Paul for Self-Portrait, a memoir about her life as an artist and her affair with painter Lucian Freud.
“We were impressed by the range of subjects and styles, the panache and originality, the research and understanding, most of all, the imaginations of the entrants, all first time writers over the age of fifty,” the award judges said in a news release. “Reading their books revitalised the spirits over these last grim weeks.”
The inaugural winner of the Bland Prize was Raynor Winn for her memoir The Salt Path. The winner of this year’s award, which comes with a cash prize of about $12,600, will be announced on July 2.
Michael Schaub is a Texas-based journalist and regular contributor to NPR.
