Annual British literary award
The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each year by the Society of Authors . Set up by William Somerset Maugham in 1947 the awards enable young writers to enrich their work by gaining experience in foreign countries. The awards go to writers under the age of 35[ 1] with works published in the year before the award; the work can be either non-fiction, fiction or poetry.[ 2]
Since 1964 multiple winners have usually been chosen in the same year. In 1975 and in 2012 the award was not given.[ 3]
Somerset Maugham Award winners, 2010–2019[ 4] Year Author Title Publisher Prize Ref. 2010 Ben Wilson What Price Liberty? Faber and Faber £2,000 [ 62] Helen Oyeyemi White is for Witching Picador £3,000 [ 63] [ 64] Jacob Polley Talk of the Town Picador £5,000 [ 65] 2011 Miriam Gamble The Squirrels Are Dead Bloodaxe £3,500 Alexandra Harris Romantic Moderns Thames and Hudson £3,500 Adam O'Riordan In the Flesh Chatto Poetry £3,500 [ 66] 2012 No award given [ 12] 2013 Ned Beauman The Teleportation Accident Sceptre £2,500 [ 67] Abi Curtis The Glass Delusion Salt £2,500 Joe Stretch The Adult Cape £2,500 Lucy Wood Diving Belles Bloomsbury £2,500 2014 Amy Sackville Orkney Granta £2,000 Daisy Hildyard Hunters in the Snow Glass Delusion Cape £4,000 Nadifa Mohamed The Orchard of Lost Souls Simon & Schuster £4,000 [ 68] 2015 Jonathan Beckman How to Ruin a Queen: Marie Antoinette, the Stolen Diamonds and the Scandal that Shook the French Throne John Murray £2,500 [ 69] Liz Berry Black Country Chatto & Windus £2,500 [ 69] Ben Brooks Lolito Canongate Books £2,500 [ 69] Zoe Pilger Eat My Heart Out Serpent’s Tail £2,500 [ 69] 2016 Jessie Greengrass An Account Of The Decline Of The Great Auk, According To One Who Saw It JM Originals £2,500 Daisy Hay Mr & Mrs Disraeli: A Strange Romance Chatto & Windus £2,500 Andrew McMillan Physical Cape Poetry £2,500 [ 70] [ 71] [ 72] Thomas Morris We Don’t Know What We’re Doing Faber and Faber £2,500 Jack Underwood Happiness Faber and Faber £2,500 2017 Edmund Gordon The Invention of Angela Carter Vintage £5,000 [ 73] Melissa Lee-Houghton Sunshine Penned in the Margins £5,000 [ 73] Martin MacInnes Infinite Ground Atlantic Books £5,000 2018 Kayo Chingonyi Kumukanda Chatto Poetry £5,250 [ 74] Fiona Mozley Elmet JM Originals £5,250 Miriam Nash All the Prayers in the House Bloodaxe £5,250 2019 Raymond Antrobus The Perseverance Penned in the Margins £4,000 [ 75] [ 76] Damian Le Bas The Stopping Places Chatto & Windus £4,000 Phoebe Power Shrines of Upper Austria Carcanet £4,000 Nell Stevens Mrs Gaskell and Me Picador £4,000
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ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Martin Amis at 60" . The Guardian . 25 August 2009. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ a b c d "Somerset Maugham Award" . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Bates, Stephen (19 January 2011). "Ian McEwan says he will accept Jerusalem prize" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Passing Remarks by Helen Hodgman, Helen Hodgeman" . Publishers Weekly . 4 May 1998. Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Max Hastings Receives 2012 Pritzker Military Award" . Publishers Weekly . 19 June 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Clive Sinclair's top 10 westerns" . The Guardian . 6 August 2008. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Sinclair, Seth (10 May 2018). "Clive Sinclair obituary" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ O'Brien, Sean (10 March 2008). "Sean O'Brien's workshop" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Blake Morrison" . The Guardian . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "THE VOYAGE HOME by Jane Rogers" . Publishers Weekly . 5 July 2004. Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Flood, Alison (3 May 2012). "Arthur C Clarke award goes to Jane Rogers" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Rogers, Jane (26 August 2011). "Novelists need publishers" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Write to Me by Patricia Ferguson" . Publishers Weekly . 1 July 1991. Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "The Cormorant by Stephen Gregory" . Publishers Weekly . 25 April 1988. Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Chapel Street by Sam North" . Publishers Weekly . 1 January 1992. Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Riptide by Peter Benson" . Publishers Weekly . 2 January 1995. Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Trick or Treat by Lesley Glaister" . Publishers Weekly . 1 January 1992. Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Easy Peasy by Lesley Glaister" . Publishers Weekly . 1 September 1997. Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Geoff Dyer: The Shape of the Landscape" . Shelf Awareness . 17 May 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Dyer, Geoff (30 September 2018). "On my radar: Geoff Dyer's cultural highlights" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Maxwell, Glyn (17 September 2009). "Glyn Maxwell's workshop" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Bunker Man by Duncan McLean" . Publishers Weekly . 28 April 1997. Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Bucket of Tongues by Duncan McLean" . Publishers Weekly . 17 May 1999. Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Liberty or Death: India's Journey to Independence and Division by Patrick French" . Publishers Weekly . 4 May 1998. Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Forward Prizes for Poetry 2004" . The Guardian . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Laura Thompson" . The Guardian . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Forward Prize 2005" . The Guardian . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Morvern Callar by Alan Warner" . Publishers Weekly . 17 February 1997. Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Kate Clanchy's workshop" . The Guardian . 1 July 2008. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Merritt, Stephanie (30 March 2003). "Mum's the word" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "The Wreckers: A Story of Killing Seas and Plundered Shipwrecks, from the 18th Century to the Present Day by Bella Bathurst" . Publishers Weekly . 13 June 2005. Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Greenstreet, Rosanna (21 May 2005). "Q&A" . The Guardian . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "TRANSMISSION by Hari Kunzru" . Publishers Weekly . 30 May 2004. Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Reading with... Jon McGregor" . Shelf Awareness . 29 November 2017. Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ McGregor, Jon (19 January 2011). "Jon McGregor's top 10 dead bodies in literature" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Pauli, Michelle (14 July 2004). "If you want something doing ..." The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Charlotte Mendelson" . The Guardian . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Cummins, Emma (21 January 2016). "UEA-Guardian Masterclasses student wins Bridport Prize for a first novel" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "How to improve your novel: A one-day workshop with Charlotte Mendelson" . The Guardian . 9 July 2015. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Live webchat: Maggie O'Farrell" . The Guardian . 16 August 2011. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Hughes, Sarah (12 December 2020). "Maggie O'Farrell: 'My children's feedback could be pretty brutal' " . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Drabble, Emily (7 July 2016). "Horatio Clare and Penny Thomas win the Branford Boase award" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Deahl, Rachel (21 December 2009). "Deals: 12/21/2009" . Publishers Weekly . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Shukman, Henry (31 January 2009). "Flight from the favela" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Higgins, Charlotte (15 April 2013). "Granta list celebrates fresh crop of British novelists" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Laird, Nick (10 April 2021). "On my radar: Nick Laird's cultural highlights" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "On my radar: Gwendoline Riley's cultural highlights" . The Guardian . 15 January 2017. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Dammann, Guy (19 June 2008). "Burnside, Thirlwell and Riley among Society of Authors winners" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Lewis, Philippa (22 August 2009). "Miss Herbert by Adam Thirlwell" . The Observer . ISSN 0029-7712 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Littler, Jo (25 September 2009). "Alasdair Gray by Rodge Glass" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Review: The Lemon Grove" . Shelf Awareness . 29 May 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Heyday: The 1850s and the Dawn of the Global Age by Ben Wilson" . Publishers Weekly . 29 February 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Akbar, Arifa (2 March 2019). "Helen Oyeyemi: 'I had such a lovely time dating different cities' " . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Helen Oyeyemi: 'I'm interested in the way women disappoint one another' " . The Guardian . 2 March 2014. ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Polley, Jacob (29 January 2017). "On my radar: Jacob Polley's cultural highlights" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Adam O'Riordan" . The Guardian . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Beckerman, Hannah (13 August 2017). "Ned Beauman: 'There's something extremely seductive about madness' " . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Ghadiali, Ashish (25 May 2021). "The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed review–a miscarriage of justice revealed " . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ a b c d Flood, Alison (26 June 2015). "Betty Trask award goes to Ben Fergusson's 'grittily evocative' debut" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Awards: Princess of Asturias; PEN Ackerley; Society of Authors" . Shelf Awareness . 23 June 2016. Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ McMillan, Andrew (19 August 2018). "On my radar: Andrew McMillan's cultural highlights" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Shaffi, Sarah (15 June 2022). " 'Landmark' anthology 100 Queer Poems published for Pride month" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ a b "2017 Somerset Maugham Award Winners" . Barnes & Noble . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Chingonyi, Kayo (20 August 2022). "On my radar: Kayo Chingonyi's cultural highlights" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Flood, Alison (20 May 2019). "Raymond Antrobus becomes first poet to win Rathbones Folio prize" . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ Sethi, Anita (28 December 2019). "Raymond Antrobus: 'In some ways, poetry is my first language' " . The Guardian . ISSN 0261-3077 . Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ "Graeme Armstrong" . Blake Friedmann . Retrieved 9 February 2023 . ^ a b c d e "Graphic novel wins at the 2022 Society of Authors' Awards" . Society of Authors . 1 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022 . ^ "Tice Cin's KEEPING THE HOUSE wins a Somerset Maugham Award" . Watson Little . 1 June 2022. Retrieved 10 February 2023 . ^ " 'A plethora of riches' – announcing the winners of the 2023 Society of Authors' Awards - The Society of Authors" . 28 June 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2023 .