Shortlisted contenders for £10,000 book award
Gordon Burn Prize 2026
And so 12 become six as the longlist for the 2026 Gordon Burn Prize, announced in November, is whittled down to a final shortlist.
The novels still in contention for the £10,000 prize are:
* One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad (published by Canongate);
* Helm by Sarah Hall (Faber);
* Thank you for Calling the Lesbian Line by Elizabeth Lovatt (John Murray Press);
* Endling by Maria Reva (Little, Brown Book Group);
* A Room Above a Shop by Anthony Shapland (Granta);
* Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty (&Other Stories).
Crime writer Val McDermid, chair of the judges, says: “The quality of this year’s submissions has made judging a difficult task but I’m satisfied we’ve come up with a shortlist that not only reflects Gordon’s passions and terms of engagement, but which will also intrigue and delight readers.
“The joy of this prize is its ability to put gems in front of readers that they might not have automatically picked up.
“That’s been my experience and I sure I won’t be the only one.”
Gordon Burn was the brilliant Newcastle-born writer whose literary output spanned fiction and non-fiction and often sat somewhere between the two.
The prize set up in his memory in 2012 (by New Writing North, Faber & Faber and the Gordon Burn Trust) “champions alternative and daring writing”, says Rebecca Wilkie, of New Writing North.
It seems the shortlisted half-dozen more than fit the bill.
Freya McClements, one of the judges, says each “captures the essence of Gordon, tackling the biggest issues of our time in ways which are fresh and innovative and forcing us to face uncomfortable truths about ourselves and our society”.
New Writing North, putting each novel’s themes and scope in a nutshell, says they are…
* “a deeply affecting and uniquely informed account of the anguish felt being an immigrant of Middle Eastern heritage living in the Western world today” (One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This);
* “a millennia-spanning novel about climate change told through the eyes of the main character, Helm, a real wind local to Cumbria” (Helm);
* “a moving and personal celebration of the lives of queer women, using a real-life log of calls made to a lesbian phone helpline in the 1990s” (Thank you for Calling the Lesbian Line);
* “a Ukrainian caper about a maverick scientist working with endangered snails that takes a staggeringly unexpected turn half-way through” (Endling);
* “a tender love story of two men quietly and in plain sight finding a way to be together in 1980s rural Wales against the backdrop of the Aids crisis” (A Room Above a Shop);
* and “a vivid portrayal of youth, family and community and the effects of intergenerational trauma on a Penobscot Indian Island Reservation in Maine (Night of the Living Rez).
The winner (who will also get the chance to undertake a writing retreat at Gordon Burn’s cottage in Berwickshire) will be announced on March 5 at an event at Northern Stage, Newcastle.
Love how this shortlist captures the whole range of what contemporary fiction can do. From immigrant anguish to climate narratives told thru wind, these six books show how literary prizes can actually spotlite work that might otherwise get lost in the endless flood of new titles. The Burn Prize seems to understand that 'daring' isnt just about style but tackling subjects mainstream publishing often sidesteps.