The Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize
WINNER: Aoife Fitzpatrick
The College enjoyed its second biggest year for the annual Fiction Prize, with over 400 entries. The winner for 2020, Aoife Fitzpatrick, with her book An Arrangement in Grey and Black was announced during an online awards ceremony on October 29, following the announcement in September that six authors had been shortlisted for the prize. Aoife Fitzpatrick is a native of Dublin, Ireland. Her short stories have been published in Southword literary journal, Books Ireland magazine, and by the Welsh independent publisher, Cinnamon Press. Winner of the inaugural Books Ireland short-story award, her work has also been recognised by the Séan O’Faoláin Prize, the Elizabeth Jolley Prize and by the Writing.ie Short Story of the Year award. She read English Studies at Trinity College, Dublin, and graduated the MFA in Creative Writing at University College Dublin, with distinction, in 2019. The Arts Council of Ireland has supported her shortlisted novel, An Arrangement in Grey & Black, with a literature bursary for 2020. Tim Bates, Head of the Books Department and literary agent sponsor at PFD, commented on this year’s winner: “Aoife Fitzgerald is a worthy winner from an unusually strong shortlist. Her An Arrangement in Grey and Black is a stunning and sophisticated historical novel, based on a true story of a murder trial in nineteenth century West Virginia, and the only time the testimony of a ghost has been allowed in a US courtroom. It’s a brilliant piece of historical re-creation.”
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ANNUAL REVIEW 2019/2020
