Kate Clanchy (chair), Chloe Aridjis and Owen Sheers were announced as the judges for the 2019 Rathbones Folio Prize. The prize is governed by an international academy of distinguished writers and critics, ensuring unique quality and consistency in its nomination and judging process. It is open to fiction, non-fiction and poetry and is awarded to the best work of literature published in a given year. This is the third year of partnership between the prize and its sponsor, Rathbone Investment Management, and the winner will be announced at a gala ceremony on 20 May 2019 at the British Library.
Last year’s winner was Richard Lloyd Parry for Ghosts of the Tsunami, described by the TLS as ‘a breathtaking, extraordinary work of non-fiction.’ Previous winners of the prize are George Saunders, Akhil Sharma and Hisham Matar.
Kate Clanchy, 2019 chair of the judges for the Rathbones Folio Prize, said: ‘So much has changed recently in the world of books – so many new, diverse voices have made themselves heard, so many genres have burst their banks – that it is easy to feel bewildered. So I feel lucky to be reading for the Rathbones Folio Prize: I have a list of nominations from over 250 of my fellow writers – the people who have the keenest eye out for the fresh and the urgent – as my guide, and I am not confined by genre because this prize, uniquely, recognises fiction, non-fiction, poetry and the ever-growing in-between. In a few months’ time, I will have the further privilege of discussing the books of 2018 with my fellow judges, and of rewarding something truly excellent. I’m excited.’
Read the full press release here.
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