Roehampton writer shortlisted for UK’s biggest innovative fiction prize
- Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Dr Isabel Waidner’s novel We Are Made of Diamond Stuff has been shortlisted for the Goldsmiths Prize 2019
The biggest prize in the UK for innovative fiction, the Goldsmiths Prize was established in 2013 to celebrate and reward fiction that breaks the mould or extends the possibilities of the novel form. The prize of £10,000 is awarded to the book which is considered truly novel and innovative, exemplifying the genre.
Dr Waidner’s novel, We Are Made Of Diamond Stuff is a critically British novel, with the issue of the dream of national belonging at its core. It considers themes of empire and contemporary working-class cultures, drawing also on autobiographical material, including the queer migrant experience.
Guy Gunaratne, a Goldsmith Prize 2019 judge said ‘It leaves you laughing, breathless but also heartbroken and hopeful, like the spirited survivors in the book itself. Like lightning, this novel. It is a furious work, stuffed with necessary power, purpose and also affection. And to borrow one of its lines to re-articulate it—Like the lypard, it navigates dimensions.’
The winner will be announced on the evening of 13 November.