British author Laura Fish died just weeks before her third novel, Lying Perfectly Still, was due to be published. She was 60. The Bookseller reported that the novel's manuscript had previously been awarded the SI Leeds Readers' Choice prize in 2022 and finished third in the SI Leeds Literary Prize the same year. It is scheduled to be published October 24 by Fly on the Wall Press.
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Isabelle Kenyon, the publisher's director, said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with Laura's partner, Michael Wild, and her family at this terrible time. It has come as an awful shock, having worked so closely with Laura over the past year since we agreed to publish her third novel."
She called Lying Perfectly Still, a novel giving voice to the women of Eswatini in southern Africa during the AIDS epidemic of the late 20th century, "a powerful and beautiful story," describing Fish's work as "of great literary quality, integrity and generosity." Kenyon added that the author "had hugely important things to say and I intend to make sure her voice remains present."
Fish's previous novels include Strange Music, which was longlisted for the Women's Prize, and Flight of Black Swans. She worked as assistant professor in English and creative writing at Northumbria University, where Tony Williams, professor of creative writing, observed: "Laura has been a valued colleague at Northumbria for many years, and her death comes as a terrible shock to colleagues and students. She was an original and ambitious writer whose new novel took forward her exploration of race and identity."
Clare Malcolm, founder and CEO of New Writing North, commented: "Laura cared deeply about injustice and believed strongly in the ways writing, storytelling, dance and art can give a voice to the unheard. The world has lost an important writer, we have lost a warm and wise colleague, and international literature has lost a great ambassador."