John Llewellyn Rhys Prize Winners and Finalists (Fiction): 1942 – 2008
The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize is awarded to the best work of literature (fiction, non fiction, poetry, drama) from Britain or the Commonwealth and written by an author age 35 or younger. To read more about this award go here.
The lists below reflect prizes for FICTION.
2008
The Secret Life of Words, by Henry Hitchings – WINNER
The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga – read my review
The Broken Word, by Adam Foulds
The Secret Life of Words, by Henry Hitchings
The Bloody White Baron, by James Palmer
God’s Own Country, by Ross Raisin
Selling Your Father’s Bones, by Brian Schofield
2006/7
The Carhullan Army, by Sarah Hall – WINNER
Blood Kin, by Ceridwen Dovey
Inglorious, by Joanna Kavenna
The Wild Places, by Robert Macfarlane
Joshua Spassky, by Gwendoline Riley
Occupational Hazards, by Rory Stewart
2005
Beasts of No Nation, by Uzodinma Iweala – WINNER – read my review
Tokyo Canceled, by Rana Dasgupta
The Short Day Dying, by Peter Hobbs
The State of the Prisons, by Sinead Morrissey
Newfoundland, by Rebecca Ray
Gem Squash Tokoloshe, by Rachel Zadok
2004
Boy A, by Jonathan Trigell – WINNER
Purple Hibiscus, by Chimamanda Ngozi Aidiche – read my review
The Places in Between, by Rory Stewart
The Broken String, by Neil Bennun
Some Great Thing, by Colin McAdam
The Afterglow, by Anthony Cartwright
2003
Daughters of Jerusalem, by Charlotte Mendelson – WINNER
2002
Virgins of Venice, by Mary Laven - WINNER
(Originally awarded to The Impressionist, by Hari Kunzru – was declined by the author due to its sponsorship by the Mail on Sunday)
2001
The Earthquake Bird, by Susanna Jones – WINNER
2000
Leadville, by Edward Platt – WINNER
The Hunter, by Julia Leigh
The Book of Love, by Roddy Lumsden
Pobby & Dingan, by ben Rice
White Teeth, by Zadie Smith
Hungry for Home Leaving the Blaskets: A Journey from the Edge of Ireland, by Cole Moreton
1999
Ghostwritten, by David Mitchell – WINNER – read my review
1998
The Ugliest House in the World, by Peter Ho Davies – WINNER
1997
Eclipse of the Sun, by Phil Whitaker – WINNER
1996
Heading Inland, by Nicola Barker – WINNER
1995
Motel Nirvana, by Melanie McGrath – WINNER
1994
What A Carve up! by Jonathan Coe – WINNER
1993
On Foot to the Golden Horn: A Walk to Istanbul, by Jason Goodwin – WINNER
1992
Sweet Thames, by Matthew Kneale – WINNER
1991
Night Geometry and the Garscadden trains, by A.L. Kennedy – WINNER
1990
Ludwig Wittgenstein: The Duty of Genius, by Ray Monk – WINNER
1989
Sylvia Townsed Warner, by Claire Harman – WINNER
1988
The March Fence, by Matthew Yorke – WINNER
1987
The Passion, by Jeanette Winterson – WINNER
1986
Loving Roger, by Tim Parks – WINNER
1985
Out of the Blue, by John Milne – WINNER
1984
Dangerous Play, by Andrew Motion – WINNER
1983
The Slow Train toMilan, by Lisa St. Aubin de Teran – WINNER
1982
An Ice-Cream War, by William Boyd – WINNER
1981
The Laird of Abbotsford, by A.N. Wilson – WINNER
1980
The Diamonds at the Bottom of the Sea, by Desmond Hogan – WINNER
1979
The Shining Mountain, by Peter Boardman – WINNER
1978
The Sweets of Pimlico, by A.N. Wilson – WINNER
1977
Vorticism & Abstract Art in the First Machine, by Richard Cork – WINNER
1976
NO AWARD
1975
Cushing’s Crusade, by Tim Jeal – WINNER
Knuckle, by David Hare – WINNER
1974
The Girl Who Passed for Normal, by Hugh Fleetwood – WINNER
1973
A Warm Gun, by Peter Smalley – WINNER
1972
The Albatross, by Susan Hill – WINNER
1971
Fireflies, by Shiva Naipaul – WINNER
1970
The People’s War, by Angus Calder – WINNER
1969
Without a City Wall, by Melvyn Bragg – WINNER
1968
The Magic Toyshop, by Angela Carter – WINNER
1967
The Seahorse, by Anthony Masters – WINNER
1966
The Millstone, by Margaret Drabble – WINNER
1965
The White Father, by Julian Mitchell – WINNER
1964
Up the Junction, by Nell Dunn – WINNER
1963
Two Lives, by Peter Marshall – WINNER
1962
An Introduction to the House of Commons, by Robert Rhodes James – WINNER
A Tropical Childhood and Other Poems, by Edward Lucie-Smith – WINNER
1961
Flight Into Camden, by David Storey – WINNER
1960
At Fever Pitch, by David Caute – WINNER
1959
A Long Way from London, by Dan Jacobson – WINNER
1958
The Mystic Masseur, by V.S. Naipaul – WINNER
1957
The Room on the Roof, by Ruskin Bond – WINNER
1956
Voices Under the Window, by John Hearne – WINNER
1955
The Moon to Play With, by Jon Wiles – WINNER
1954
The Hostile Sun, by Tom Stacey – WINNER
1953
The Return Home, by Rachel Trickett – WINNER
1952
NO AWARD
1951
The Beautiful Visit, by Elizabeth Jan Howard – WINNER
1950
Adventure lit Their Star, by Kenneth Allsop – WINNER
1949
Maiden’s Trip, by Emma Smith – WINNER
1948
The Wind Cannot Read, by Richard Mason – WINNER
1947
Moondrop to Gascony, by Anne-Marie Wlaters – WINNER
1946
My Bird Sings, by Oriel Malet – WINNER
1945
The Sea Eagle, by James Aldridge – WINNER
1944
The Last Inspection, by Alun Lewis – WINNER
1943
Beauty for Ashes, by Morwenna Donelly – WINNER
1942
Sunk by a Mine, by Michael Richey – WINNER