Louise Kennedy shortlisted for Waterstones Prize
Louise Kennedy has been shortlisted for the inaugural Debut Fiction Prize for her novel, Trespasses.
Waterstones praised Trespasses, saying it is “a blistering account of encroaching violence and fractured loyalties in 1970s Belfast.” Waterstones booksellers said it’s heartfelt, illuminating and assured, offering “a real sense of the everyday tensions during the Troubles.”
Kennedy was born and raised in Holywood, Co. Down. Her short stories have been published in journals including The Stinging Fly, The Tangerine, The Lonely Crowd and Banshee.
She published her first short fiction collection, The End of the World is a Cul de Sac, in 2021 to wide critical acclaim.
Also shortlisted are Bonnie Garmus for Lessons in Chemistry, Tess Gunty for The Rabbit Hutch, Sequoia Nagamatsu for How High We Go in the Dark, Eloghosa Osunde for Vagabonds! and Tara M Stringfellow for Memphis.
The winner will be announced on Thursday 25 August 2022 at an evening ceremony, and will receive a £5,000 prize, as well as the backing of all Waterstones shops and its website.
Bea Carvalho, Waterstones Head of Fiction said: “This is a truly global shortlist which broadens horizons and challenges genre. United by a generous capacity to find hope, light, and community in the unlikeliest places, they are all timely and important novels by writers of staggering ambition and talent.”
“The exceptional quality of submissions signifies a bright and exciting future for fiction, and our six finalists represent the dazzling scope of storytelling talent among this new generation of novelists.”
