New Angle Prize

Inaugurated in 2009, the New Angle Prize of £2000 (£500 for the runner-up) is offered for a recently published book "of literary merit associated with or inspired by East Anglia" (Norfolk, Suffolk or North Essex).

The judges for 2011:
• Mark Cocker author, journalist and naturalist and first winner of the New
Angle prize for 'Crow Country' (Vintage, 2007)
• Nicci Gerrard writer and journalist
• Gill Lowe lecturer in English and specialist in 'Life-writing'

Entries for the prize must have been first published between 1st April 2009 and 31st December 2010. Six copies of each book entered plus a completed application form should be sent to Ipswich Institute, Reading Room & Library, 15 Tavern Street, Ipswich, IP1 3AA.

The competition rules and more details can be found on www.ipswichinstitute.org.uk/NAP.html or by sending a stamped addressed envelope to the above address.

Authors of the short-listed books will attend a book-reading event during the 2011 Ipswich Arts Festival (Ip-Art) on Tuesday 5th July. Prize winners will be announced at a special awards ceremony on Wednesday 7th September 2011.

2011 Winner & Shortlist

The winner, receiving a cheque for £2,000 from sponsors Gotelee Solicitors, was Jim Kelly for "Death Watch".

Runner-up, receiving £500, was Ronald Blythe for "Aftermath".

other shortlisted

Maggi Hambling "The Aldeburgh Scallop"

Blake Morrison "The Last Weekend"

Jeremy Page "The Wake"

M Sanford & R J Fisk "A Flora of Suffolk"

2011 New Angle Prize for Literature - Judges' Recommendations (Long-list)

Aftermath by Ronald Blythe (Black Dog Books, 2010)
The collected wisdom and kindness of one of East Anglia's most eloquent and honoured writers

Water Marks: Art in East Anglia by Ian Collins (Black Dog Books, 2010)
Water Marks gives an overview of the life and work of the numerous artists, in all kinds of media, who
have been inspired by, visited, or lived in East Anglia. Each short article is accompanied by abundant high
quality reproductions of the artists' work. This is a rich, informative and pleasurable book to dip into.

The Woman Before Me by Ruth Dugdall (Legend Press, 2010)
An impressive debut psychological thriller set in a bleak version of Suffolk, in which three mothers are
drawn into a story of loss and suspicion - the first two through the death of their babies; the third, a
Probation Officer assigned to the case, who has to untangle the story. Brooding, oppressive, well-written
and compelling.

The Aldeburgh Scallop by Maggi Hambling (Full Circle Editions, 2010)
A beautifully illustrated and evocative account, of the story of the making of the iconic Aldeburgh Scallop,
which is also a story of the sea and the people who live by it.

The Breakfast Machine by Helen Ivory (Bloodaxe Books, 2010)
'Talk soft to me,' begins one poem: Helen Ivory does talk soft, in these short poems that explore buried
childhood fears and fairy tale darkness. Surreal and sinister; half dream and half nightmare - Ivory has an
an authentic voice: original, witty and weird.

Death Watch by Jim Kelly (Penguin, 2010)
A dark baroque thriller, set in a bleakly rendered King's Lynn, in which the Gothic intricacies of plot are
controlled by fine sense of pace and character

Rumour by A.C.Lawrence (Sandlings Press, 2009).
Based on a true story form the First World War, when a Suffolk village school master and his wife become
caught up in a spy scandal, Rumour is a novel that examines the contagion of distrust. Meticulously
researched, full of local knowledge and observation, and fuelled by an extraordinary story of betrayal and
loss.

The Last Weekend by Blake Morrison (Chatto & Windus, 2010)
A tightly-focussed, deftly-structured, creepy and dread-filled account of obsession and revenge, uncoiling
over a long, hot weekend in East Anglia

The Wake by Jeremy Page (Viking, Penguin 2009)
A story of bereavement and human solitude, set in the muddy estuaries of East Anglia and its grey North
Sea, which has an extraordinary sense of atmosphere, from the tour de force of its first chapter on.

The King of the Norfolk Poachers: His Life and Times by Charlotte Paton (Old Pond Publishing, 2009)
Frederick Rolfe was a notorious poacher at war with the authorities and with his own inner demons for
much of his troubled life. In this well-written first book, Paton has done an admirable job unpicking fact
from fiction and placing Rolfe in his wider historical and social context. Highly recommended.

Norfolk Red: The Life of Wilf Page, Countryside Communist by Mike Pentlelow, (Lawrence and Wishart,
2009).
A brisk well-written 'life' of this noted activist in the field of rural trade unions. Although a committed
communist all his days, Wilf Page transcended mere party politics through his gentle humour, his sense of
justice and his largeness of spirit. If you are inspired to read about East Anglian figures with big hearts and
broad minds then you will enjoy this biography.

Lost Country Houses of Suffolk by W.M. Roberts (Boydell Press, 2010)
This clear, scholarly and revelatory account of the loss of forty fine Suffolk houses will be invaluable to
local, architectural and social historians. It would also appeal to general readers and lovers of East Anglia.
It is a handsome book: attractively laid out, satisfyingly heavy to hold and lavishly illustrated.

A Flora of Suffolk by MN Sandford & R J Fisk (Sandford & Fisk, 2010)
A hefty, meticulous, gorgeously illustrated, mathematically charted, densely informative, taxonomically
detailed account of all the plants that occur or have occurred in Suffolk.

2010 Winners

First Prize: "Crow Country" Mark Cocker, Vintage, 2007

Runner-up: "What I Was" Meg Rosoff, Penguin Books 2008

Highly Commended: "Notes from Walnut Tree Farm" Roger Deakin, Penguin Books 2008

Judges Biographical Details:

Mark Cocker
Mark Cocker is an author, journalist and naturalist who writes regularly
for The Guardian and The Times. He is well known in Britain for his work
on wildlife. His eight books, include Birders:Tales of a Tribe and Birds
Britannica, a hugely acclaimed study of the cultural importance of birds in
his home country. His book Crow Country (2007) was shortlisted for the
Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction and was awarded the inaugural
New Angle Prize for East Anglian literature in 2009. He has travelled the
world in search of wildlife and broadcasts on BBC Radio as well as
lecturing and teaching regularly on the subjects of wildlife and nature
writing.

Nicci Gerrard
Nicci Gerrard is a writer and journalist who lives in Suffolk. For many
years she worked on The Observer, as a literary editor, an interviewer, a
feature writer and executive editor. With her husband, Sean French, she
has written thirteen best-selling psychological thrillers under the name of
Nicci French. She also writes solo novels, the most recent of which is
The Winter House.

Gill Lowe
Senior lecturer in the English department at University Campus Suffolk,
Gill Lowe has worked as a teacher of English and Drama in secondary
and further education. Her particular interests are textual analysis, short
fiction, adaptation from text to screen and auto/biography. She has given
papers at international conferences and taught creative writing for UEA,
where she studied for a Masters in 'Life-writing'. Her dissertation led to
the publication of a biographical monograph about Virginia Woolf's
mother and an edition of The Hyde Park Gate News (the family
newspaper of Virginia Stephen and her siblings).