AN Irish author is among a six-strong shortlist for a new literary prize.
Dublin based Mary Minnock is in the running to win The Libraro Prize.
Launched earlier this year the new award is designed to find ‘the next bestselling author’– with the shortlist selected from unpublished novels uploaded to the Libraro platform.
Run in partnership with Hachette UK and LoveReading, the winner will receive a £30k prize and £20k in marketing support, as well as a book deal with Hachette.
Libraro readers have selected the shortlist, which includes Minnock’s tale Love Lost.
The story is described by the award panel as “an intimate portrayal of a divorced mother and father facing the mysterious death of their daughter, while navigating their shared past”.
The shortlist also includes “a World War Two historical novel inspired by a true romance; a modern fable about cancel culture; a page-turning crime novel; an intriguing sci-fi novel set in the Outer Hebrides, and a gripping fantasy about a world in peril” they confirm.
As well as the Irish entry, the shortlisted authors are based across the US, Scotland and Cumbria.
Over the past two months some 15,000 people have read 2,000 submissions to the Libraro platform, which has shaped the final shortlist.
Now a panel of industry professionals, chaired by author Joanne Harris, will select an overall winner, which will be announced on May 13.
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