Another literary prize, another win for a small publisher. Amy Sackville's debut novel, The Still Point, won the £5,000 (US$7,885) John Llewellyn Rhys Prize, which honors the best work of literature by a U.K. or Commonwealth writer aged 35 or under.
Chair of judges Claire Allfree said The Still Point "has a huge imaginative scope. It tells its story in unexpected, subtle ways and her use of language took our breath away. She is a writer of seemingly limitless promise and, amid some tough competition, a thoroughly deserving winner."
The Still Point is published by Portobello Books, and "its win continues the trend which has seen independents take a number of high-profile prizes internationally this year, including, most recently, Canada's Giller prize and America's National Book Awards fiction prize," the Guardian wrote.