Pop singer among winners at 2024 Nero Book Awards for English folk horror novel
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English folk horror Lost In The Garden is among the four winners of the 2024 Nero Book Awards, as its author Adam S Leslie takes home the fiction prize. The screenwriter, musician and songwriter, who grew up in Lincolnshire and lives in Oxford, won £5,000 and is in the running for the Nero Gold Prize, book of the year 2024, which boasts an additional £30,000 prize, along with winners across three other categories.
The second year of the literary awards saw Sophie Elmhirst’s Maurice And Maralyn: An Extraordinary True Story Of Shipwreck, Survival And Love win the non-fiction prize, while Wild Houses by Colin Barrett snapped up the debut fiction gong, and The Twelve by Liz Hyder named the children’s fiction winner.
Judges praised Leslie’s story of three women travelling to a sinister place as making “vulnerable, rooted characters come of age in a hazy, hypnotic book that reflects contemporary Britain through a distorted lens”. Leslie is also a psychedelic pop singer-songwriter who produces music under the name Berlin Horse.
Gerry Ford, founder and group chief executive of Caffe Nero, said: “The standard of entries this year was very high and with such incredible shortlists, our judges had a difficult job of picking just one winner in each category. “They have chosen four impressive books which display an outstanding level of writing and captivating storytelling.
“These four books are worthy winners and collectively, will appeal to readers of all ages and tastes and represent the best writing from the UK and Ireland. I look forward to announcing our Gold Prize winner in March, and I am proud to continue to support the arts at Caffe Nero through the Nero Book Awards.”.
