Anna Dempsey Triumphs as First Winner of Hilary Mantel Fiction Prize
The literary world has a new champion as Anna Dempsey has been announced as the inaugural winner of the Hilary Mantel prize for fiction. Her unpublished novel, This Is About an Alligator and Nothing Else, secured the prestigious award, which comes with a £7,500 cash prize and significant career support.
Honoring a Literary Legacy Through New Talent
Established to honor the memory of the late Booker prize-winning author Hilary Mantel, this newly created award specifically aims to support unpublished and un-agented writers across the United Kingdom and Ireland. The prize represents a direct continuation of Mantel's own commitment to nurturing emerging literary voices.
Dempsey, a Florida-born writer and educator now residing in London, emerged victorious from an impressive field of 2,300 submissions. Her winning novel presents a coming-of-age narrative set on the periphery of the Florida Everglades, where a small community confronts a water contamination crisis linked to corporate negligence.
Substantial Rewards for Literary Excellence
Beyond the monetary award, Dempsey will receive comprehensive professional development opportunities:
- Mentoring from an agent at AM Heath, Mantel's longtime literary agency
- Editorial guidance from a John Murray editor
- A residential writing course placement with the Arvon Foundation
The runner-up position was awarded to Uduak-Abasi Ekong, a Manchester-based Nigerian writer, for her novel A Kind of Resurrection. Ekong receives £2,500 and will participate in an Arvon masterclass, along with receiving the same mentoring opportunities as the winner.
A Personal Connection to the Award
"Winning the inaugural Hilary Mantel prize is an enormous honour," Dempsey expressed. "I find it particularly significant that this award celebrates Mantel's enduring legacy while my novel, in its own distinctive way, serves as a tribute to my father."
Dempsey began writing her winning manuscript shortly after her father's sudden passing in 2020. The novel's young protagonist, grappling with her father's death officially attributed to a heart attack, becomes increasingly convinced that corporate negligence played a role in the tragedy.
Distinguished Judging Panel Makes Selection
The competition was judged by an esteemed literary panel chaired by bestselling author Maggie O'Farrell. The judging committee included:
- Nicholas Pearson, Mantel's longtime editor
- Ben Miles, the actor who portrayed Thomas Cromwell in Royal Shakespeare Company adaptations of Mantel's Wolf Hall series
- Novelists Chetna Maroo and Chigozie Obioma
Bill Hamilton, Mantel's literary agent, praised the remarkable diversity of submissions, noting "settings from all around the world, everything from satire to the supernatural, from contemporary to ancient myth."
Biennial Opportunity for Emerging Writers
The Hilary Mantel prize will operate on a biennial basis, opening every two years to unpublished and un-agented writers in the UK and Ireland. Applicants must submit an extract of approximately 15,000 words from their unpublished manuscript.
Nicholas Pearson reflected on the award's significance, stating, "Throughout her distinguished career, Hilary Mantel cared deeply for novelists making their first steps into the literary world, and I feel certain she would have wanted to support these two exceptional writers."
Ekong's runner-up novel explores psychological horror through the lens of West African folklore, weaving supernatural elements with profound emotional trauma. Both winning works demonstrate the vibrant creativity the prize aims to foster in Mantel's memory.
