Benjamin Wood's Seascraper Wins Top Honour in Nero Book Awards
In a ceremony marking the third edition of the prestigious Nero book awards, esteemed authors Benjamin Wood, Claire Lynch, Sarah Perry, and Jamila Gavin took home top prizes for their outstanding works. The awards, launched by Caffè Nero in 2023 to fill the void left by Costa Coffee's abrupt exit from the literary scene, aimed to champion exceptional books published in the UK and Ireland over the past year.
Wood's Seascraper emerged victorious as the winner of the fiction award for its immersive portrayal of a shrimp fisherman's life on the Merseyside coast. The judges praised the novel for its attentiveness to everyday details, transforming ordinary routines into poetic narratives that sing on the page.
Sarah Perry's Death of an Ordinary Man secured the nonfiction prize with its candid and delicate account of her father-in-law's battle with cancer. The book won over judges with its honesty, generosity, and precision, making it a must-read for anyone seeking to confront the reality of mortality.
Claire Lynch claimed the debut fiction award for her powerful exploration of prejudice and secrecy within a family torn apart by homophobia in 1980s Britain. The novel's raw, vivid storytelling was deemed "hopeful" by judges, who praised Lynch's ability to tackle complex themes with delicacy.
Jamila Gavin rounded out the winners list with My Soul, A Shining Tree, her poignant and evocative historical novel based on the true story of Indian first world war gunner Khudadad Khan. The book was described as "superbly poignant" by Imogen Russell Williams in a Guardian review.
Each winner will receive £5,000, while the overall Nero Gold prize winner will take home an additional £30,000. The winners' journeys to the top of the award will be continued with the announcement of the gold prize at a ceremony set to take place in March.
For those eager to dive into these outstanding works, Seascraper by Benjamin Wood (£14.99) and Death of an Ordinary Man by Sarah Perry (£18.99) are available for purchase at guardianbookshop.com.
In a ceremony marking the third edition of the prestigious Nero book awards, esteemed authors Benjamin Wood, Claire Lynch, Sarah Perry, and Jamila Gavin took home top prizes for their outstanding works. The awards, launched by Caffè Nero in 2023 to fill the void left by Costa Coffee's abrupt exit from the literary scene, aimed to champion exceptional books published in the UK and Ireland over the past year.
Wood's Seascraper emerged victorious as the winner of the fiction award for its immersive portrayal of a shrimp fisherman's life on the Merseyside coast. The judges praised the novel for its attentiveness to everyday details, transforming ordinary routines into poetic narratives that sing on the page.
Sarah Perry's Death of an Ordinary Man secured the nonfiction prize with its candid and delicate account of her father-in-law's battle with cancer. The book won over judges with its honesty, generosity, and precision, making it a must-read for anyone seeking to confront the reality of mortality.
Claire Lynch claimed the debut fiction award for her powerful exploration of prejudice and secrecy within a family torn apart by homophobia in 1980s Britain. The novel's raw, vivid storytelling was deemed "hopeful" by judges, who praised Lynch's ability to tackle complex themes with delicacy.
Jamila Gavin rounded out the winners list with My Soul, A Shining Tree, her poignant and evocative historical novel based on the true story of Indian first world war gunner Khudadad Khan. The book was described as "superbly poignant" by Imogen Russell Williams in a Guardian review.
Each winner will receive £5,000, while the overall Nero Gold prize winner will take home an additional £30,000. The winners' journeys to the top of the award will be continued with the announcement of the gold prize at a ceremony set to take place in March.
For those eager to dive into these outstanding works, Seascraper by Benjamin Wood (£14.99) and Death of an Ordinary Man by Sarah Perry (£18.99) are available for purchase at guardianbookshop.com.
gotta say, benjamin wood's seascraper is giving me all the feels - that immersive portrayal of a shrimp fisherman's life is straight fire 
i mean, who wouldn't want to read about the everyday details that make life so rich and poetic? and the fact that sarah perry's death of an ordinary man won the nonfiction prize makes total sense - it's such a raw and honest account of mortality. and claire lynch's debut fiction award is totally deserved, her exploration of prejudice and secrecy within a family torn apart by homophobia in 1980s britain is so powerful 
gotta keep pushing for more representation and nuanced storytelling.
so i'm reading about the nero book awards and it's all about celebrating great books in the uk & ireland... benjamin wood's seascraper takes home the top prize, which is no surprise given how immersive his storytelling is - it's like you're right there on the merseyside coast with him 
. what i love about this award is that it's not just about big-name authors, but also debuts and nonfiction books that might get overlooked in the literary scene... claire lynch's debut is super powerful & hopeful 
. overall, these winners deserve all the recognition they can get - can't wait to dive into seascraper & death of an ordinary man! 
14.99 is still kinda steep tho 
anyway, love that the judges praised it for being all poetic and stuff 
gotta check out sarah perry's death of an ordinary man too, cancer is such a tough topic to tackle 
what do u guys think about these winners? should we give them a read? 
. I mean, I've read some great books in my day, but this one's definitely up there...
Benjamin Wood's Seascraper sounds like such a unique and captivating book - the idea of transforming everyday routines into poetic narratives is genius! 
I need to add it to my reading list ASAP! 
but will def check it out. Claire Lynch's debut fiction award winner seems really powerful and thought-provoking too 
. Sarah Perry's Death of an Ordinary Man is also a total tear-jerker - it's like reading a letter from the heart 
. Can't wait to dive into these books and see what all the fuss is about 
it sounds so cool! a shrimp fisherman on the Merseyside coast, that's like, totally my dream vacation spot 
. I'm defo going to have to check out this book and see if I can get into the writing thing too... do you think it's hard to become an author? 
. First of all, have you seen the judges' reviews? They seem way too... flattering 
. I mean, what's with all the superlatives? "Hopeful" and "superbly poignant"? Sounds like some kind of marketing ploy to me 
. And don't even get me started on the prize money - £30k for one book? That's just too rich 
and i gotta say, benjamin wood's seascraper sounds soooo good 
! i love how the judges praised it for its attention to everyday details - that's like what i do when i'm making my own art... umm, just kidding 
. can't wait to check out jamila gavin's my soul... a shining tree too 
but like is it really worth that £30k tho? i mean, the books are probs amazing and all but 30 grand seems kinda steep to me 
also gotta give a shoutout to jamila gavin for writing my soul, a shining tree - her story about khudadad khan's bravery during ww1 is super inspiring 