Publishing Prize
The Shortlist
Finlay Lloyd Publishers and the 20/40 Judging Panel are delighted to announce the Shortlist for 2025:
Angus Gaunt, Anna
Kim Kelly, Touched
Monica Raszewski, Mystic Vera and Lottie the Shadow Puppet
Paul Toohey, Bad Face
Finlay Lloyd publisher, Julian Davies, commented:
‘Our press and the 20/40 judging panel would like to congratulate the shortlisted authors and celebrate their achievement. Because the entries in a publishing prize
are all unpublished pieces, they are unavailable to the public. That’s exactly why we established 20/40—to provide an avenue for writers to try their hand at works of this length, where two entries enjoy the process of becoming books. For the shortlisted authors who don’t go on to win the prize, we hope being shortlisted will be a fillip and incentive to keep developing their writing.’
The panel was engaged by the breadth of approaches in the shortlist.
Angus Gaunt’s Anna
is a short novel that steps with deep insight into the dire circumstances of a girl who has little more than her own inner resources to deal with sustained privation and the threat of violence.
Kim Kelly’s Touched
is a memoir that uses self-deprecation and humour to turn her own experience of intense panic attacks into a lively and profound reflection on the prevalent role of anxiety in so many of our lives.
Monica Raszewski's Mystic Vera and Lottie the Shadow Puppet
is a short novel centred on eccentric, flighty, Vera who dances with happy abandon around her sister, Lottie’s flailing attempts to control her excesses.
Paul Toohey's Bad Face
is a short novel set on the late 19th Century US frontier, where totemic violence between settlers, cattle ranchers and rustlers, and native Americans is played out with vital gothic intensity.
A note on the 20/40 process
Due to the editing and production process, it is intrinsic to a publishing prize that when the shortlisted entries are announced the winning books are already in the final stages of being prepared for publication. Announcing the shortlist is intended to be a form of recognition and celebration of the efforts of all four writers.
The judging panel for the 2025 20/40 Prize was Sonya Voumard, Nicholas Hartland, Julian Davies, Penelope Cottier and John Clanchy.
The 20/40 Publishing Prize is overseen by an expert advisory board:
John Clanchy
Donna Ward
Dr Meredith McKinney
Emeritus Professor Kevin Brophy AM
With assistance from
Strategic Adviser: Dr Bidda Jones AM
Technical Adviser: James Smith
The 20/40 Publishing Prize is overseen by an expert advisory board:
John Clanchy
Donna Ward
Dr Meredith McKinney
Emeritus Professor Kevin Brophy AM
With assistance from
Strategic Adviser: Dr Bidda Jones AM
Technical Adviser: James Smith
Finlay Lloyd is an independent, non-profit publisher, founded in 2005, dedicated to encouraging imaginative and challenging writing, to subtly innovative design and to celebrating the pleasures of print on paper in an electronic age. To find out more, visit our website.
Finlay Lloyd is an independent, non-profit publisher, founded in 2005, dedicated to encouraging imaginative and challenging writing, to subtly innovative design and to celebrating the pleasures of print on paper in an electronic age. To find out more, visit our website.
E: finlaylloyd@sharewater.net