Congratulations to all and many thanks to the judges. Huge thanks to the judges, because they have a job I don’t think I could do. I could go to meet colleagues for brunch in a Turkish restaurant behind Paddington Station – which according to Neil Griffiths, the founder of the prize, writing on the RoC substack, is where they slimmed down the longlist of 10 to the shortlist of 5 – and I could happily choose for myself from the menu but choosing dishes that would please us all would be tricky. Some of us are vegan. Some of us eat meat but not eggs. Some of us (to quote from Neil’s substack) are not even keen on brunch: ‘too in-betweeny’.
The RoC Prize was founded to address a climate in which ‘publishers who could least afford to take the financial risk were left to publish the most risk-taking work’, and its focus has always been on small presses rather than individual books. Every announcement of the long- and shortlists foregrounds the presses over the books and more money goes to them than to the authors or translators. Each press – and the definition of ‘small press’ has required adjustment over the years the prize has been running – is allowed to submit just one book. So is the book being judged as representative of that press, rather than for its individual merit? I don’t think I want to know, just as I really am glad that I didn’t happen to be in that Turkish restaurant and overhear the discussion at the next table. All these prizes, to maintain their fascination, need to retain an air of mystery.
The money is important too. Right now, it looks likely that the money coming to CBe from the RoC long- and shortlistings will enable publication next year of a book I’m keen on and that would otherwise not appear. Two weeks ago I wrote about money on this blog - see the post immediately below this one.
All the RoC shortlisted titles will be celebrated at the Library at Deptford Lounge on 13 March: full details here.
As ever, the Season Tickets on the home page of the CBe website offer a good return: any 6 books from the 79 titles listed for £50, or any 10 books for £75. (There are also specific special offers which change every month or so – 2 books for £16, 3 for £24 – at the foot of the Books page.) Free postage. Beats Amazon. They can be bought for others as well as yourself. No need to wait for Christmas.
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