Publishing Prize

The Shortlist

Finlay Lloyd Publishers and the 20/40 Judging Panel are delighted to announce the Shortlist for 2024:

Alicia Marie Carter, Minotaur Toes
PS Cottier and NG Hartland, The Thirty-One Legs of Vladimir Putin
Susan Saliba, There is Something that Waits Inside Us
Sonya Voumard, Tremor

Finlay Lloyd publisher, Julian Davies, commented:

‘Finlay Lloyd and the 20/40 judging panel congratulate the shortlisted authors and celebrate their achievement. For the Prize’s second year, the panel’s process of evaluating the work of the aspiring writers who entered 20/40 was again wonderfully collaborative and enjoyable. Both last year’s winning authors joined the panel—an aspect of the prize we look forward to continuing each year.

 

'Because the entries in a publishing prize are all unpublished pieces, they are unavailable to the public.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 become books each year. For the authors who aren’t published, 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.

Alicia Marie Carter's Minotaur Toes

pulls no punches in taking the reader deep into the searing, visceral reality of the ensnared existence of a young woman, manipulated in prostitution.

PS Cottier and NG Hartland’s The Thirty-One Legs of Vladimir Putin

spirits us away on a comedic journey into a world where the reality and absurdity of political power are increasingly indistinguishable.

Susan Saliba's There is Something that Waits Inside Us

empathetically explores the search for solace of a girl caught between the example of her high-achieving aunt and her eccentric, dysfunctional mother.

Sonya Voumard's Tremor

shows us that beyond our societal expectations and judgements about normality, individual lives with disability can follow atypical, often difficult, but ultimately inspiring paths.

See the Winners

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 those writers.

The judging panel for the 2024 20/40 Prize was Kevin Brophy, Rebecca Burton, Julian Davies, Rashida Murphy and Kim Swivel.

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

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