18 of the best books by East Anglian writers this year

Now in their 15th year, the awards celebrate writing talent within the east of England, and are a partnership between Jarrold, the Eastern Daily Press, the East Anglian Daily Times and the National Centre for Writing, supported by the UEA Faculty of Arts and Humanities and the PACCAR Foundation.

The shortlisted titles are:

Biography and Memoir

Judged by Cassia Hayward-Fitch, PhD researcher in American Studies, University of East Anglia

Iron Man by Lynne Bryan (Salt Publishing)

Lynne received her MA in creative writing in 1985. Her first book was a collection of short stories, Envy At The Cheese Handout (Faber & Faber 1995), which was followed by two novels, Gorgeous (Sceptre 1999) and Like Rabbits (Sceptre 2002). She is a frequent tutor for the Arvon Foundation and teaches Creative Writing on UEA’s undergraduate programme.

Constable: A Portrait by James Hamilton (Orion)

James is an art and cultural historian. His books include Turner: A Life, shortlisted for the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and A Strange Business: Making Art And Money In Nineteenth-Century Britain, which in 2014 was named Art Book of the Year by the Sunday Times. Hamilton was curator of art collections and projects in Portsmouth, Wakefield, Sheffield, Leeds and the University of Birmingham, where he is a Fellow of the Barber Institute of Fine Arts.

Sea-Change by Jessica Streeting (Propolis)

Jessica combines a career in school and public health nursing with writing, and is a Queen’s Nurse. Having grown up in Norfolk, she has a deep love for East Anglia and draws on Norfolk landscape and life in her work.

Her writing includes a novel about school nursing, Last Summer in Soho, and she was one of five Norfolk poets commissioned for the 10th anniversary Norwich UNESCO City of Literature Wandering Words, with her poem Fine City.

In November 2021 Propolis published Jessica’s epic poem memoir, Sea-Change, which charts an idyllic Norfolk childhood, love and sudden loss. Jessica lives with her partner and their children in Westminster and Cromer.

Fiction

Judged by Joe Williams, journalist and PhD researcher, University of East Anglia

Your Show by Ashley Hickson-Lovence (Faber)

Ashley was born in London in 1991 and is a former secondary school English teacher. In his spare time, using his experience as a football referee himself, he formally observes semi-professional referees for the FA. His debut novel, The 392, was released in April 2019.

The Bewitching by Jill Dawson (Hodder & Stoughton)

Jill's novels include Fred and Edie, which was shortlisted for the Orange Prize and the Whitbread Novel of the Year Award, Watch Me Disappear, which was longlisted for the Orange Prize, and The Crime Writer, winner of the East Anglian Book of the Year. An award-winning poet, she has also edited several poetry and short story anthologies. She lives in the Cambridgeshire Fens.

Stewkey Blues: Stories by D. J. Taylor (Salt Publishing)

D. J. has written 12 novels, including Trespass (1998) and Derby Day (2011), both long-listed for the Man-Booker Prize, and, most recently Rock and Roll is Life: The True Story of the Helium Kids by One Who was There (2018). His non-fiction includes Orwell: The Life, which won the 2003 Whitbread Prize for Biography. He lives in Norwich with his wife, the novelist Rachel Hore.

General Non-Fiction

Judged by Sabina Dosani, PhD researcher in creative and critical writing, University of East Anglia

Hello, Stranger by Will Buckingham (Granta)

Will is a writer, academic and traveller with an MA in anthropology and a PhD in philosophy. He has previously published books in several genres, including philosophy and fiction for children and adults. Born in the UK, he has worked and travelled all over the world. He co-directs Wind&Bones, a social enterprise that explores how writing can help us connect and reconnect and is currently based in Scotland.

The Art of Doris and Anna Zinkeisen by Nicola Evans, Philip Kelleway and Emma Roodhouse (Unicorn Publishing)

Nicola is an accomplished artist and conservator of paintings at KSH Conservation Ltd. She has also worked for Damien Hirst at Hirst Science and for the National Maritime Museum in London.

Philip is an art historian who has written books on topics including 18th century porcelain, illustration and landscape painting. He is an authority on the work of the Zinkeisen sisters and has previously published Highly Desirable: the Zinkeisen Sisters and Their Legacy.

Emma is an art curator and researcher. She has spent over 12 years working with the art collections at Colchester and Ipswich Museums Service, curating exhibitions on a wide range of themes including Constable; Rodin’s sculpture The Kiss, and Ed Sheeran. She has been a recipient of awards for curatorial scholarship and research through the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art. She is a freelance researcher, curator and speaker on Suffolk art.

Creating Constable by Caleb Howgego and Emma Roodhouse (Colchester and Ipswich Museums Services)

Caleb is an Ipswich historian born and bred in the town. He has a BA in history and politics from the University of East Anglia, runs his own blog and The Ipswich History Podcast. He has worked for the Colchester and Ipswich Museum Service. He has published Ipswich Through Time, Ipswich History Tour and Ipswich in 50 Buildings.

History and Tradition

Judged by Amanda Dillon, lecturer in history, University of East Anglia and manages the academic journal European History Quarterly

Some Splendid Noise: 70 years of Aldeburgh Music Club, 1952 - 2022 by David Edwards (Gresham Publications)

David was born in Ipswich and studied drama and English at Bristol University. He went on to have a career in arts administration, including 24 years as chief executive of Derby Playhouse, before returning to Suffolk in 2002 to become head of operations at Snape Maltings Concert Hall.

Since retiring, he has turned increasingly to writing. His essays have frequently appeared in Aldeburgh Festival programme books, and in 2013 he was commissioned to write the history of Snape Maltings Concert Hall, The House that Britten Built, which is shortly to go into its third edition.

Wingfield: Suffolk's Forgotten Castle by Elaine Murphy (Poppyland Publishing)

Elaine is an independent life peer, Baroness Murphy of Aldgate, a well-known academic psychiatrist and dementia specialist.

She worked in the NHS for 25 years becoming foundation professor of psychiatry of old age at the medical schools of Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals from 1983 to 1996. In her retirement she undertook a PhD in social history, and, as well as being the author of many academic books, she now writes on the history of her beloved Waveney Valley and counties of Norfolk and Suffolk.

Her titles include The Moated Grange: A history of south Norfolk through the story of one home 1300–2000, Monks Hall: The History of a Waveney Valley Manor and Wingfield: Suffolk's Forgotten Castle.

The Great Thorpe Railway Disaster 1874: Heroes, Victims, Survivors by Phyllida Scrivens (Pen and Sword Books)

Phyllida lives with husband Victor in Thorpe St Andrew, overlooking the River Yare, close to the site of The Great Thorpe Railway Disaster.

She graduated from UEA in 2014, with an MA in non-fiction creative writing which led directly to a publishing contract with Pen and Sword Books.

In 2016 her first biographical book Escaping Hitler was launched in Jarrold and later published in the US. Her second book, The Lady Lord Mayors of Norwich 1924-2017, won the Best Biography Prize at the East Anglian Book Awards in 2018.

The Mal Peet Children’s Award

Judged by Tom Smith, author, editor and professor of American Literature, University of East Anglia

Arthur: the Always King by Kevin Crossley-Holland (Walker Books)

Kevin is a Carnegie Medal and Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize winning author best known for his Arthur trilogy (The Seeing Stone, At The Crossing Places and King of the Middle March) published by Orion, which have been translated into 25 languages and sold over 2 million copies. He is the author of the classic retelling of Beowulf and The Penguin Book of Norse Myths and is a well-known poet and Anglo-Saxon translator.

The Other Side of the Whale Road by K.A. Hayton (Eye Books)

As an RAF child, K.A. Hayton grew up in various parts of Europe. She spent the first year of her English degree at Sheffield University studying Anglo-Saxon poetry, which sparked an enduring interest in the Dark Ages. She trained as a nurse, now works as a health visitor and is also a magistrate. She has two grown-up daughters and lives in rural Suffolk with her husband and a Hungarian rescue dog.

Spark by Mitch Johnson (Hachette)

After graduating from the University of East Anglia with an award-winning degree in English Literature with Creative Writing, Mitch completed Kick, his debut novel for middle grade readers. Endorsed by Amnesty International UK for its portrayal of children's rights, Kick also received the 2018 Branford Boase Award.

Mitch now works as a Waterstones bookseller in Norwich where he lives with his wife and family.

Poetry

Judged by Jake Reynolds, poet and PhD researcher, University of East Anglia

Boudicca by Matt Haw (Templar Poetry)

Matt is a poet, essayist and filmmaker. He is the author of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole (tall-lighthouse, 2014) and the recipient of an Eric Gregory Award. He divides his time between Norfolk and the west coast of Norway.

Ovarium by Joanna Ingham (The Emma Press)

Joanna writes poetry and fiction. She grew up in Suffolk and has recently returned to live there after 20 years in London and Hertfordshire. Naming Bones, her debut pamphlet, was published by Ignition Press in 2019 and she won the Paper Swans Press Single Poem Competition in 2020. Her pamphlet Ovarium, about a giant ovarian cyst, was published by The Emma Press in 2022. She has worked in community arts, facilitating creative writing workshops in a wide variety of settings. She lives with her husband and daughter.

Deception Island by Elizabeth Lewis Williams (Story Machine)

Elizabeth is a Norwich based poet and teacher.

After many years spent teaching in schools, she completed an MA, followed by a PhD, at the University of East Anglia where she is a visiting fellow. Her first book, Deception Island, gave rise to an immersive installation in a replica Antarctic hut which is on national tour. Recently, she has also been part-time writer in residence at the British Antarctic Survey.

Of the 18 shortlisted titles, two are published by Cromer-based independent publishers Salt, and two are co-written by Emma Roodhouse, an art curator and researcher based at Colchester and Ipswich Museums Service.

Jessica Streeting, who lives in Cromer, balances a career in school and public health nursing with writing. Her memoir Sea-Change is shortlisted for the Biography and Memoir category.

She said: "My book Sea-Change is born and bred in Norfolk and I’m grateful to publisher Henry Layte and the Propolis team for taking the risk with an epic poem memoir, whose journey since publication has already been so 'rich and strange'. Thank you!"

Thomas Smith, who judged the The Mal Peet Children’s Award, said: "It has been an eye-opening privilege to immerse myself in the richness of writing for children that is rooted in this region — from both established voices and brand-new talents.

“Whether introducing young readers to unfamiliar visions of the places they think they know well or using the region as a springboard into other times and other realms, East Anglia can boast an amazing range of writers and illustrators working in this vital genre."

The winning book from each category will be considered by a final judging panel of representatives from Jarrold, Eastern Daily Press, National Centre for Writing and University of East Anglia.

One of these six finalists will go on to win the Book of the Year Award with prize money of £1,000, courtesy of the PACCAR Foundation.

The category winners will be announced in the Eastern Daily Press in January, followed by the Overall Book of the Year Award and Exceptional Contribution Award on Friday, February 17.