Anna Dempsey Wins the Inaugural Hilary Mantel Prize for Fiction

Anna Dempsey has been named the first-ever winner of the Hilary Mantel Prize for her novel set in Florida, with Nigerian author Uduak-Abasi Ekong taking the runner-up spot in this prestigious new literary competition.

Ekong is a Manchester-based Nigerian author whose story A Type of Resurrection is a mental scary rooted in West African folklore. It discovers how pain can transform love and asks: what happens if the individual who liked you most declined to let you go– also in fatality?

Selection Process and Diverse Perspectives

Expense Hamilton, Mantel’s representative at AM Health, said: “The entries were read by a passionate team of visitors from AM Heath and John Murray. The closer we reached a manageable number to suggest to the judges, the bigger the contrasts in the creativity and design and voices of the authors: setups from all around the globe, every little thing from satire to the supernatural, from contemporary to old misconception. It has actually been an impressive statement to the development and fluency of striving writers of all kinds, and we are pleased to have located our excellent victor and runner-up amongst them.”

Prizes and Professional Mentorship

Dempsey will certainly be awarded ₤ 7,500 and Ekong ₤ 2,500. Both will certainly get individual mentoring from a representative at AM Heath and an editor at John Murray. Dempsey likewise been provided a position on an Arvon property composing course and Ekong a put on an Arvon masterclass.

The 2026 champion and runner-up were chosen by a panel of five judges chaired by the bestselling writer Maggie O’Farrell, that recalls gaining from the charitable support of various other authors when she was creating her launching novel. Her fellow judges were Nicholas Pearson, Mantel’s editor of 18 years, the actor Ben Miles, that played Thomas Cromwell in the Royal Shakespeare Firm adjustments of Mantel’s novels Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies and The Mirror and the Light, and writers Chetna Maroo and Chigozie Obioma.

The Inspiration Behind the Winning Novel

Her novel This Is Regarding an Alligator and Absolutely Nothing Else is a coming-of-age story concerning a lady growing up in a trailer park that has to live with the unexpected fatality of her papa. Dempsey claimed: “Winning the inaugural Hilary Mantel Prize is a massive honour. I discover it substantial that this honor commemorates Mantel’s legacy and that my book, in its own method, is a tribute to my dad. I began composing my unique quickly after the abrupt fatality of my very own papa in February 2020. Expense Hamilton, Mantel’s agent at AM Health, stated: “The submissions were read by a passionate team of readers from AM Heath and John Murray.

Pearson said: “The first sentence of This Is About an Alligator and Absolutely nothing Else right away makes you stay up and listen. Anna Dempsey provides mesmeric and powerful voice to a 12-year-old lady living with her daddy on the edge of the Everglades, and all 5 courts concurred that she must be our victor.

Dempsey is a Florida-born writer and instructor who now resides in London. Her unique This Has to do with an Alligator and Nothing Else is a coming-of-age tale about a girl growing up in a trailer park that has to deal with the untimely end of her father. Dempsey recently finished a PhD in creative writing at Bathroom Medical spa University and the College of Bristol. She won the 2019 Costa Short Story Award and was longlisted for the Discoveries Reward by the Female’s Prize Depend on.

Anna Dempsey has actually been granted the inaugural Hilary Mantel Prize for Fiction, winning out of 2,300 entries for her unique This is About an Alligator and Absolutely Nothing Else. Uduak-Abasi Ekong was named runner-up.

“Developing art is one thing, but navigating business of the book world is one more, so this assistance is very useful to emerging authors like myself. Likewise a heartfelt thank you to Hilary Mantel. Your generosity toward new writers continues beyond your life time and I’m so grateful.”

“After his death, the pandemic left me stranded in the UK and I covered what I could not literally reach, using my contacting bring home closer and to recover the memory of my father, even if only on the page. It is an extraordinary advantage to be mentored by AM Heath and John Murray.

Supporting the Next Generation of Storytellers

“We were likewise taken in by the very early chapters of our runner-up, Uduak-Abasi Ekong, whose novel is a seductive and atmospheric ghost story set in modern Lagos. Throughout her occupation, Hilary Mantel cared deeply for storytellers making their primary steps, and I feel certain she would have wished to sustain these 2 remarkable writers.”

Dempsey said: “Winning the inaugural Hilary Mantel Reward is an enormous honour. I discover it substantial that this honor commemorates Mantel’s tradition and that my book, in its own method, is a tribute to my papa. The pain of all of it isn’t lost on me, or the power art needs to maintain somebody to life. I started composing my novel quickly after the sudden death of my own father in February 2020. It was born out of a deep wishing for him and the location where he increased me: Florida.