Waiting on the Bell

Not quite two months after announcing its longlist of contenders for the 2022 Glass Bell Award, that prize’s sponsor, London’s Goldsboro Books, has issued its lineup of six finalists:

• We Are All Birds of Uganda, by Hafsa Zayyan (Merky)
• Sistersong, by Lucy Holland (Macmillan)
• Ariadne, by Jennifer Saint (Wildfire)
• Mrs. March, by Virginia Feito (Fourth Estate)
• The Wolf Den, by Elodie Harper (Head of Zeus)
• Daughters of Night, by Laura Shepherd Robinson (Mantle)

Of those, only Daughters of the Night (one of my favorite books of 2021) can be deemed a crime/mystery novel. But the Glass Bell covers broader ground. As press materials explain, it is “awarded annually to a compelling novel, of any genre—from romance and thrillers, to historical, speculative and literary fiction—with brilliant characterisation and a distinct voice that is confidently written and assuredly realized.” The winner is expected to be declared on September 8, and will receive £2,000 in prize money.

(Hat tip to Shotsmag Confidential.)