The 2025 Goldsmiths Prize shortlist has been announced, showcasing a collection of authors whose works push the boundaries of contemporary fiction. Among the shortlisted writers are Sarah Hall, Charlie Porter, and Yrsa Daley-Ward, each recognised for novels that challenge conventional storytelling and expand the possibilities of the novel form. The £10,000 award, presented annually by Goldsmiths, University of London in association with the New Statesman, honours fiction that is innovative and genre-defying.

Sarah Hall's novel Helm is central to this year's shortlist. The book explores Britain’s only named wind through an intricate weave of narratives spanning from prehistoric times to the present day. Hall’s work has garnered critical acclaim for its complexity and poetic depth; she is a two-time Man Booker Prize nominee and the only author to have won the BBC National Short Story Award twice. Her reputation for literary innovation is further underlined by recent accolades, including the 2020 BBC National Short Story Award for “The Grotesques” and a longlisting for the 2023 International Dublin Literary Award for Burntcoat.

Charlie Porter is recognised for Nova Scotia House, a poignant novel addressing the impact of AIDS. The book invites readers into an experimental narrative style described as exhilarating and life-affirming in a Guardian review. Yrsa Daley-Ward’s The Catch also makes the list, a shape-shifting story integrating elements of popular, literary, and science fiction to tell the tale of two sisters grappling with the mysterious return of their deceased mother. This work defies categorical boundaries, inviting readers to reconsider traditional genre distinctions.

The judging panel, chaired by Amy Sackville, senior lecturer in creative writing at Goldsmiths, praises the shortlisted works for being "slippery, genre-defying, vibrant, witty and profound." Alongside Sackville, the judges include acclaimed authors Mark Haddon, Simon Okotie, and Megan Nolan, who highlight the creativity and innovation across the shortlist.

Additional nominees include Colwill Brown, winner of the BBC’s national short story prize, for her debut novel We Pretty Pieces of Flesh, which explores the lives of three young women in Doncaster with a voice described as both boisterous and bleak. Ben Pester appears for The Expansion Project, a novel presented as a collage assembled by a future archivist, blending personal and speculative storytelling. Finally, CD Rose is shortlisted for We Live Here Now, a novel examining the aftermath of an art installation’s disappearance through an encyclopaedic series of interconnected stories.

The Goldsmiths Prize, now in its 13th year, has a history of spotlighting unconventional and groundbreaking fiction. Last year, the prize was awarded to Rachel Cusk for Parade, while previous winners include notable contemporary authors such as Eimear McBride, Ali Smith, Isabel Waidner, and Benjamin Myers. The 2025 winner will be revealed at a ceremony at Foyles bookshop in London on 5 November.

The prize remains an important platform for recognising fiction that challenges norms and invites readers into new literary experiences, reflecting a vibrant and evolving landscape in contemporary British and Irish literature.

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Source: Noah Wire Services