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Nathan Munday shortlisted for the Betty Trask Prize

Copy of Whaling laid out against a wood effect background

Congratulations to Nathan Munday whose debut novel Whaling has been shortlisted for the Society of Authors Betty Trask Prize. The prize is awarded annually to the best first novel by a writer under 35.

Nathan is shortlisted alongside five other authors, including fellow Welsh writer Rachel Dawson (Neon Roses). Of the shortlist, judge Anjali Joseph said: “The shortlist this year includes several historical novels, and a few that take elements of classics – Moby Dick, Frankenstein – and make them into something new. All of the shortlisted novels delighted us with their freshness and each had a voice that was distinctively and recognisably its own.”

The winner will be announced at the Society of Authors Awards Ceremony on 20th June taking place at Southwark Cathedral. The event will also be live streamed.

To view the full shortlists for all of the Society of Authors Awards, visit the Society of Authors website.

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Katrina Naomi awarded Arthur Welton Award

Photo of Katrina Naomi wearing a blue floral top. Her hair is styled in a 1950s updo with pink flowers pinned above her left ear.

Seren poet Katrina Naomi has been awarded an Arthur Welton Award to support her forthcoming collection Battery Rocks. Awarded through the Society of Authors, the award is one of several grants available to writers through the Society of Authors Author’s Foundation for works in progress, and is awarded in memory of 20th Century poet and philanthropist Arthur Welton.

Battery Rock’s is Katrina Naomi’s fourth full collection of poetry and is due for publication on 8th July 2024. In the meantime, why not read Katrina’s previous collection Wild Persistence?