FESTIVAL BOOKS | First Book Award
FIRST RITES Tim Clare and over 50 other authors are up for the EIBF’s First Book Award this year. Yasmin Sulaiman picks eight more of our favourite debuts, whose authors are appearing at the festival
ANNA SMAIL LUCY RIBCHESTER
THE CHIMES (SCEPTRE) THE HOURGLASS FACTORY
KIRSTIN INNES FISHNET (FREIGHT)
AMY MASON THE OTHER IDA (CARGO)
When it came out in February, we called The Chimes ‘a distinctive and impressive debut, one that dares to
create its own music’. Just last month, it was included on the Booker longlist. It’s a dystopian thriller set in a world
where people are unable to create their own memories. With Sean Michaels,
(SIMON & SCHUSTER)
We’ll be honest: Lucy writes about dance for us, so we already know how great she is. Her debut is an
entertaining romp through the streets of Edwardian London, featuring a trapeze artist, corset fetishists and Suffragettes. With Care Santos, 26
Another List connection: Kirstin’s a former staff member and she got the
idea for Fishnet after an article she wrote for us in 2009. Years later, it’s become this fantastic novel, in which Fiona stumbles into an unfamiliar world when she goes looking for her missing sister. With Melinda Nadj Abonji, 15
Amy Mason asks if women can escape
their mothers’ shadow in her debut, which won the Dundee International Book Prize in 2014. When Ida returns
home after her mother’s death, she and her sister confront some hard truths and discover who their mother really was. With Esther Gerritsen, 20
22 Aug, 7pm, £7 (£5). Aug, 2pm, £7 (£5).
Aug, 8.45pm, £7 (£5). Aug, 8.45pm, £7 (£5).
CHIGOZIE OBIOMA THE FISHERMEN (ONE)
Also on the Man Booker longlist is this thrilling debut from Obioma, the story of nine-year-old Benjamin’s childhood
SEAN MICHAELS US CONDUCTORS (BLOOMSBURY)
JESSE ARMSTRONG, SIMON SYLVESTER
LOVE, SEX AND OTHER FOREIGN POLICY GOALS
THE VISITORS (QUERCUS) To call Sylvester’s first novel a mystery
Michaels’ debut is based on the tale (JONATHAN CAPE)
of Lev Terman, a scientist and Russian This comic novel set in the former
about a missing person would be reductive; it’s just as much a
in Nigeria. It’s garnered praise from critics and audiences alike, putting Obioma on the map as one of the new generation of storytellers from
spy sent to New York. It’s beautifully written, and recently won the Canadian Man Booker equivalent, the Giller Prize (previous winners include Alice Munro
Africa. With Simon Sylvester, 26 Aug, and Margaret Atwood). With Anna
Yugoslavia in 1994 is one of the year’s funniest books. Armstrong might be a debut novelist but he’s also one of the writers behind Peep Show, The Thick of It and In the Loop. With Tom Drury,
celebration of the Scottish storytelling tradition, and a beautiful evocation of a remote island. Part folk-tale, part thriller, it’s a fascinating debut with a strong Scottish identity. With Chigozie
5pm, £7 (£5).
Smail, 22 Aug, 7pm, £7 (£5).
28 Aug, 8.45pm, £7 (£5). Obioma, 26 Aug, 5pm, £7 (£5).
ALL EVENTS AT CHARLOTTE SQUARE GARDENS, 0845 373 5888. VOTE FOR THE FIRST BOOK AWARD AT EDBOOKFEST.CO.UK BY MIDNIGHT ON 16 OCT 2015.
32 THE LIST FESTIVAL 13–20 Aug 2015