Queen Mary Small Press Fiction Prize
The Queen Mary Small Press Fiction Prize, formerly called the Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses, is an annual British literary prize founded by the author Neil Griffiths. It rewards fiction published by UK and Irish small presses, defined as those with fewer than five full-time employees. The prize money – initially raised by crowdfunding and latterly augmented by sponsorship – is divided between the publishing house, the author, and, if relevant, the translator.
History
The prize was first awarded in 2017. It ran for nine years as the Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses. In 2025 it announced that it was partnering with Queen Mary University and rebranding as the Queen Mary Small Press Fiction Prize. The first award under that name will be the 2026 prize.Winners, shortlists and longlists
2017
The shortlist for the 2017 award was announced on 11 January 2017. The winner was announced on 9 March 2017.- Winner: John Keene, Counternarratives
- Elnathan John, Born on a Tuesday
- Mike McCormack, Solar Bones
- KJ Orr, Light Box
- Anakana Schofield, Martin John
- Paul Stanbridge, Forbidden Line
- Diane Williams, Fine, Fine, Fine, Fine, Fine
- Lara Williams, Treats
The following books were also longlisted for the prize:
- Kate Armstrong, The Storyteller
- Marcia Douglas, The Marvellous Equations of the Dread
- Mia Gallagher, Beautiful Pictures of a Lost Homeland
- Seraphina Madsen, Dodge and Burn
- Sally O’Reilly, Crude
- Faruk Šehić, Quiet Flows the Una, translated by Will Firth
- Linda Stift, The Empress and the Cake, translated by Jamie Bolloch
- Chris Wilson, ''Glue Ponys''
2018
The shortlist for the 2018 award was announced on 19 February 2018. The winner was announced on 20 March 2018.- Winner: Eley Williams, Attrib. and Other Stories
- Ariana Harwicz, Die, My Love, translated by Sarah Moses and Carolina Orloff
- David Hayden, Darker with the Lights On
- Noémi Lefebvre, Blue Self-Portrait, translated by Sophie Lewis
- Preti Taneja, We That Are Young
- Isabel Waidner, Gaudy Bauble
- Patty Yumi Cottrell, Sorry to Disrupt the Peace
- Kevin Davey, Playing Possum
- Mathias Énard, Compass, translated by Charlotte Mandell
- Arja Kajermo, The Iron Age
- Ben Myers, The Gallows Pole
- Simon Okotie, In the Absence of Absalon
- Jack Robinson, An Overcoat
2019
The shortlist for the 2019 award was announced on 2 March 2019. The joint winners were announced on 28 March 2019.- Winner: Will Eaves, Murmur
- Winner: Alex Pheby, Lucia
- Daša Drndić, Doppelgänger, translated by Celia Hawkesworth & S. D. Curtis
- Wendy Erskine, Sweet Home
- Anthony Joseph, Kitch: A Fictional Biography of a Calypso Icon
- Chris McCabe, Dedalus
- Jean Frémon, Now, Now, Louison, translated by Cole Swensen
- Julián Fuks, Resistance, translated by Daniel Hahn
- Nora Ikstena, Soviet Milk, translated by Margita Gailitis
- Gabriel Josipovici, The Cemetery in Barnes
- Sophie van Llewyn, Bottled Goods
- Sue Rainsford, Follow Me to Ground
- Nicholas John Turner, ''Hang Him When He Is Not There''
2020
The shortlist for the 2020 award was announced on 26 February 2020. The Winner was announced on 30 March 2020.- Winner: Jean-Baptiste Del Amo, Animalia, translated by Frank Wynne
- Toby Litt, Patience
- Hanne Ørstavik, Love, translated by Martin Aitken
- Minoli Salgado, Broken Jaw
- Isabel Waidner, We Are Made of Diamond Stuff
- Mara Coson, Aliasing
- Sarah Henstra, The Red Word
- Rónán Hession, Leonard and Hungry Paul
- Caleb Klaces, Fatherhood
- Melissa Lee-Houghton, That Lonesome Valley
- Juan Rulfo, El Llano in flames, translated by Stephen Beechinor
- Faruk Šehić, Under Pressure, translated by Mirza Purić
2021
The shortlist for the 2021 prize was announced on 26 March 2021. The winner was announced on 19 May 2021.- Winner: Shola von Reinhold, Lote
- Lynne Tillman, Men and Apparitions
- Monique Roffey, The Mermaid of Black Conch
- Luis Sagasti, A Musical Offering, translated by Fionn Petch
- Doireann Ní Ghríofa, A Ghost in the Throat
- Katharina Volckmer, The Appointment
- Alex Pheby, Mordew
- Paul Griffiths, Mr Beethoven
- Huw Lemmey and Hildegard von Bingen, Unknown Language
- Alhierd Bacharevič, Alindarka’s Children, translated by Jim Dingley & Petra Reid
2022
The shortlist for the 2022 prize was announced on 27 March 2022. The winner was announced on 11 May 2022.- Winner: Norman Erikson Pasaribu, Happy Stories, Mostly, translated by Tiffany Tsao
- Scholastique Mukasonga, Our Lady of the Nile, translated by Melanie Mauthner
- Vanessa Onwuemezi, Dark Neighbourhood
- Montserrat Roig, The Song of Youth, translated by Tiago Miller
- Isabel Waidner, Sterling Karat Gold
- Mona Arshi, Somebody Loves You
- Badr Ahmad, Five Days Untold, translated by Christiaan James
- Ryan Dennis, The Beasts They Turned Away
- Jonas Eika, After the Sun, translated by Sherilyn Nicolette Hellberg
2023
The shortlist for the 2023 prize was announced on 16 March 2023. The winner was announced on 26 April 2023.- Winner: Missouri Williams, The Doloriad
- Steven J Fowler, MUEUM
- Nate Lippens, My Dead Book
- Sheena Patel, I’m a Fan
- Thuận, Chinatown, translated by Nguyễn An Lý
- Fatima Daas, The Last One, translated by Lara Vergnaud
- Eva Ďurovec, New Mindmapping Forms
- Yewande Omotoso, An Unusual Grief
- John Smith, Little Boy
- Zoë Wicomb, ''Still Life''
2024
The shortlist for the 2024 prize was announced on 4 March 2024. The winner was announced on 17 April 2024.- Winner: Ana Paula Maia, Of Cattle and Men, translated by Zoë Perry
- Farai Mudzingwa, Avenues by Train
- Sheyla Smanioto, Out of Earth, translated by Laura Garmeson & Sophie Lewis
- Miri Yu, The End of August, translated by Morgan Giles
- Maxim Znak, The Zekameron, translated by Jim & Ella Dingley
- Ventura Ametller, Summa Kaotica, translated by Douglas Suttle
- Emilienne Malfatto, May the Tigris Grieve for You, translated by Lorna Scott Fox
- So Mayer, Truth & Dare
- Olga Ravn, My Work, translated by Sophia Hersi Smith & Jennifer Russell
- Krisztina Tóth, Barcode, translated by Peter Sherwood
2025
The 2025 longlist was announced on 30 January 2025. The shortlist was announced in February 2025 and the winner on 1 April 2025.- Winner: Gaëlle Bélem, There’s a Monster Behind the Door, translated by Karen Fleetwood and Laëtitia Saint-Loubert
- Catherine Axelrad, Célina, translated by Philip Terry
- Marouane Bakhti, How to Leave the World, translated by Lara Vergnaud
- Charles Boyle, Invisible Dogs,
- Glen James Brown, Mother Naked
- Sulaiman Addonia, The Seers
- Jenni Daiches, Somewhere Else
- Ella Frears, Good Lord
- Karen Jennings, Crooked Seeds
- Nathan Knapp, ''Daybook''
US and Canada prize
In 2021, the Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses in the USA was launched. Its principles and guidelines are based on the UK prize, but it rewards books published in the US or Canada.2024 (US and Canada)
The shortlist for the US and Canada 2024 prize was announced on 5 March 2024 and the winner on 19 March 2024.- Winner: Ebru Ojen, Lojman, translated by Aron Aji and Selin Gökçesu
- Kate Briggs, The Long Form
- Sebastián Martínez Daniell, Two Sherpas, translated by Jennifer Croft
- Laurent Mauvignier, The Birthday Party, translated by Daniel Levin Becker
- Mandy-Suzanne Wong, The Box
- Jazmina Barrera, Cross Stitch, translated by Christina MacSweeney
- Don Gillmor, Breaking and Entering
- Johanna Hedva, Your Love is Not Good
- Christine Lai, Landscapes
- Ada Zhang, ''The Sorrows of Others''
2025 (US and Canada)
The shortlist for the US and Canada 2025 prize was announced on 26 February 2025.- Winner: Rodrigo Fresán, Melvill, translated by Will Vanderhyden
- Jakuta Alikavazovic, Like a Sky Inside, translated by Daniel Levin Becker
- Mark Haber, Lesser Ruins
- Vera Mutafchieva, The Case of Cem, translated by Angela Rodel
- Jón Kalman Stefánsson, Your Absence Is Darkness, translated by Philip Roughton
- Leah Hager Cohen, To & Fro
- Lindsay Hill, Tidal Lock
- Ariane Koch, Overstaying, translated by Damion Searls
- Suzumi Suzuki, Gifted, translated by Allison Markin Powell
- Manya Wilkinson, ''Lublin''