A debut novel published by a tiny independent press has made the shortlist for the £10,000 Goldsmiths Prize. Playing Possum by Kevin Davey – praised by one of the judges, AL Kennedy, for its “mosaic plot and dark humour” – has a fictionalised TS Eliot, wanted for murder, pursued from London to Whitstable, 90 years after he spent a night there in 1922. It is up against books by the modernist heavyweights Nicola Barker and Will Self, as well as fifth novels by Jon McGregor and Gwendoline Riley. Sara Baume, who, aged 33 is the youngest shortlistee in the prize’s history, is nominated for her second novel. None have been previously shortlisted for the prize.
Here’s the list in full:
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