Poet, journalist and literary critic James Fenton has been awarded the 2015 PEN Pinter Prize, recognizing "a British writer of outstanding literary merit," the Bookseller wrote. Chair of judges Maureen Freely, who is president of English PEN, said, "Throughout his long and distinguished career, James Fenton has spoken truth to power--forcefully, fearlessly, and beautifully. In this age of privatised art, it is increasingly rare for writers to retain this degree of public commitment, and that is one reason why we so pleased to be awarding him this prize. But the main reason, of course, is that James Fenton is one of the finest poets of his generation."
On October 6, Fenton will deliver an address at an event at the British Library and reveal the 2015 International Writer of Courage, selected from a shortlist of international cases supported by English PEN. The recipient will be an international writer who is active in defense of freedom of expression, often at great risk to their own safety.
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A six-book shortlist has been unveiled for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, which celebrates the best in British and Irish crime writing. The winner, who will be announced July 16, receives £3,000 (about $4,665) and a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by Theakstons Old Peculier. This year's shortlisted titles are:
The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson
The Axeman's Jazz by Ray Celestin
Someone Else's Skin by Sarah Hilary
The Facts of Life and Death by Belinda Bauer
Entry Island by Peter May
The Outcast Dead by Elly Griffiths
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The longlist for the CWA's Goldsboro Gold Dagger Award for best crime novel of the year consists of these 10 titles:
The Shut Eye by Belinda Bauer
The Rules of Wolfe by James Carlos Blake
The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith
Missing by Sam Hawken
Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King
Pleasantville by Attica Locke
The Bone Seeker by M.J. McGrath
The Serpentine Road by Paul Mendelson
Life or Death by Michael Robotham
The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson
The shortlist will be announced June 30 and winners in September.