Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad (Grove Press) has won the $35,000 Aspen Words Literary Prize, given by the Aspen Words program of the Aspen Institute to "a work of fiction that illuminates a vital contemporary issue and demonstrates the transformative power of literature on thought and culture."
The jury wrote: "In elegant, nuanced prose, Isabella Hammad tells the story of Sonia Nasir, a stage actress living in London who returns to her homeland of Palestine to visit her sister, Haneen, after many years away, and finds herself roped into a production of Hamlet in the West Bank. Exploring themes of diaspora, displacement and the search for identity, Hammad constructs a world rich in texture and emotion. A poignant narrative of resilience and the quest for belonging, Enter Ghost is a dazzling story of self-discovery against the backdrop of displacement."
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A shortlist has been released for the 2024 Branford Boase Award, which is sponsored by Walker Books and presented to the author of an outstanding debut novel for children. The prize also honors the editor of the winning title and highlights the importance of the editor in nurturing new talent.
The winner will be named July 10 at a ceremony in London. The winning author receives £1,000 (about $1,250), with author and editor each getting an inscribed plaque. This year's shortlisted titles are:
The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow, illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton; edited by Charlotte Hacking
The First Move by Jenny Ireland, edited by Ruth Knowles with Sara Jafari
Safiyyah's War by Hiba Noor Khan, edited by Eloise Wilson
Steady for This by Nathanael Lessore, edited by Ella Whiddett and Ruth Bennett
The Swifts by Beth Lincoln, illustrated by Claire Powell; edited by Ben Horslen and Julie Strauss-Gabel
You Think You Know Me by Ayaan Mohamud, edited by Sarah Stewart