The Royal Society of Literature has announced Daisy Hildyard as the winner of the 2023 Encore Award for her novel, Emergency. The prestigious literary prize awards £10,000 to the writer of the best second novel of the year.
The news was announced at a live ceremony on 15 June 2023 and, though she was unable to attend, Hildyard commented: ‘An award for a second attempt is a kind-hearted award and I am happy and grateful to have been a part of it this year. The other authors on the shortlist are all writers whose work I respect, and I like that the award makes us into a cohort: we’ve written our different books about different things, but we’re together on our second novels at the same moment (even though I reckon I’m the oldest, which means they’re actually one step ahead of me). When we are very, very old, on our seventy-fifth novels, I hope we’ll still be seeing and reading each other.
‘I’m grateful to my agent David Godwin and to my publishers Fitzcarraldo, who made this book – I just wrote a Word doc – and they’ve cared for it so thoughtfully and generously, before and since its release,’ Hildyard added. ‘The prize money will give me time at my desk – it makes a big and real difference. Speaking personally, it meant a lot to me that the judges described Emergency as a celebration of life, an experience of being in the thick of life – thank you for reading the novel and thinking about it like this. And it’s good to think of people feeling that, inside or outside the book.’
This year’s judges, Maura Dooley, Daljit Nagra and Nikesh Shukla added: ‘Emergency is a work of great style and substance; contemplative, clever and seductive. Lyrically unfolding its story slowly and delicately through the compelling voice of a narrator brought to a standstill in lockdown, this work reflects on rural life at a point of great change.
‘In contemplating childhood, in her evocation of her schooldays, in the natural world seen through the eyes of a child, Hildyard summons a world just pre-internet, a place in which the edgelands of a rural community struggle as employment slips away,’ they added. ‘In her finely-observed and precise descriptions of the environment Hildyard elides the easy distinctions between the man-made and the natural world, asking the reader to look harder. The reader is invited to consider what the destruction of this interrelated world might mean for us all. This is a powerful pastoral novel written with a watchful, unsparing eye, both praising and exposing the beauty, the ugliness, and the essential interconnectedness of life.’
The 2023 Encore Award Shortlist 2023
What Is The Encore Award?
The RSL Encore Award recognises the best second novel of the year – that is, the second novel published by a writer, filling a niche in the literary award scene. First awarded in 1990, the annual award bestows the winner with a £10,000 – plus, all shortlisted authors are awarded £500. Previous winners include Sally Rooney (for Normal People), Colm Tóibín (for The Heather Blazing), and Ali Smith (for Hotel World).
This year, the judging panel is Maura Dooley, Daljit Nagra and Nikesh Shukla.
The Shortlist
The shortlisted books for the 2023 Encore Award are:
Milk Teeth by Jessica Andrews
Factory Girls by Michelle Gallen
Emergency by Daisy Hildyard
Complicit by Winnie M Li
Here Again Now by Okechukwu Nzelu
Here Again Now by Okechukwu Nzelu
‘A novel which explores male friendship, sexuality and family-allegiance in an ambitiously-constructed narrative that slips between time frames in a vivid depiction of diaspora and gay masculinity. This is an intimate, tender and compassionate story.’
‘I couldn’t be happier to be shortlisted for the Encore Award,’ said Okechukwu. ‘Writing a second novel is a huge challenge and this recognition represents vital encouragement for anyone approaching the task. I am very grateful to the RSL and the judges, and I congratulate my fellow shortlisted writers.’
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Complicit by Winnie M Li
‘This is a timely novel, expertly exposing the imbalance of power between influential men and hard-working young women in a film industry fuelled by sexism and racism. Detailed and thought-provoking, it shines a merciless light on the deliberate avoidance, even by some senior women in the industry anxious to keep hard-won positions, of acknowledging the exploitation of women.’
‘It’s a huge honour – and also a complete surprise – to be shortlisted for the Encore Award,’ said Winnie. ‘Writing a second novel is notoriously difficult, and for me, the writing of Complicit was beset by pregnancy and the pandemic. But as authors we want to continually push ourselves to be more ambitious in theme and craft, so thank you to the Encore Award for recognising the work we put into our second novels and supporting us on the wonderful, but often-unpredictable journey of being an author.’
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Emergency by Daisy Hildyard
The judges said: ‘“Everything belonged to life”, says the narrator, in this sustained mediation on the potential of our human interconnections with all that surrounds us. As much a lyrical celebration of life as it is a disquietude and call to action. An enthralling experience of being truly in the world.’
‘My first novel came out ten years ago – after such a long time working towards Emergency, I’m very happy to see it read and valued,’ Daisy commented on her nomination.
Factory Girls by Michelle Gallen
The judges describe it as: ‘An hilarious and touching coming-of-age-summer story. The Factory is a world of possibilities our late-teens negotiate before they head for university. Against the background of the Troubles, and set in a town on the border, this novel movingly exposes the insidious slow burn of political damage just as much as the witty, vexed and ultimately heart-warming narrative of loveable characters.’
On her nomination, Michelle said: ‘Having read many of the previous Encore Award-winning books, I know this prize recognises ambitious, mischievous books, teeming with memorable characters, challenging ideas and compelling human stories. So it’s a huge honour to see Factory Girls on the shortlist, and a validation of my publishers’ commitment to finding and amplifying previously marginalised voices.’
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Milk Teeth by Jessica Andrews
The judges said: ‘A gripping exploration of doubt mitigated by the quest for meaning and purpose in a narrative that probes deep into the malaise of a woman whose determination is to succeed by undoing. A complex psychological portrait whose every page is alive with the beauty of language.’
Jessica said: ‘I’m so pleased to be shortlisted for such a brilliant prize. Writing a second novel can be challenging and it is both humbling and emboldening to see Milk Teeth recognised in this way.’