Frome author shortlisted for major literary prize

Frome author, Susannah Walker has made the shortlist of the UK’s longest-running literary prize, the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. 

Susannah’s moving book ‘The Life of Stuff: A Memoir about the Mess We Leave Behind’ has been shortlisted for the prestigious James Tait Black Biography Prize.

Susannah shares the shortlist with three other very strong contenders: ‘Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire’ by Akala, ‘In Extremis: The Life of War Correspondent Marie Colvin’ by Lindsey Hilsum, and ‘The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books: Young Columbus and the Quest for a Universal Librar’y by Edward Wilson-Lee.

Biography judge Dr Simon Cooke, of the University of Edinburgh said, “In searching eloquent and formally inventive explorations of their subjects, these four books ask questions about the way all of us live our lives. I’m delighted that this year’s shortlist shows the reach and vitality of biographical writing in the centenary year of the James Tait Black.”

This is not the first time a local author has reached the shortlist of the James Tait Black Prize. In fact, Costa prize-winning novelist Andrew Miller (of Whitham Friary) was the winner of the James Tait Black Prize for Fiction with his debut novel ‘Ingenious Pain’ in 1997. The winner of the 2019 James Tait Black Prize will be announced in August at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

‘The Life of Stuff: A Memoir about the Mess We Leave Behind’ is out now in paperback (£9.99); signed copies are available to buy at Hunting Raven Books in Cheap Street, Frome.