The Waterstones 11 was a literary book prize aimed at promoting debut authors, run and curated by British bookseller

Waterstones Waterstones, formerly Waterstone's, is a British book retailer that operates 311 shops, mainly in the United Kingdom and also other nearby countries. As of February 2014, it employs around 3,500 staff in the UK and Europe. An average-sized Wa ...

. It ran from 2011–13. The list of 11 authors are selected from a list of 100 authors submitted by publishers. The prize, established in 2011, has included

Orange Prize The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–12), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017)) is one of the United Kingdom's m ...

winner Tea Obreht's novel ''

The Tiger's Wife ''The Tiger's Wife'' is the debut novel of Serbian-American writer Téa Obreht. It was published in 2011 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, a British imprint of Orion Books, and by Random House in America. Obreht won the 2011 Orange Prize for Fiction fo ...

'',

Man Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly known as the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a literary prize awarded each year for the best novel written in English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. ...

nominee '' Pigeon English'' by

Stephen Kelman Stephen Kelman (born 1976) is an English novelist, who grew up on Marsh Farm council estate in Luton. He studied marketing at the University of Bedfordshire,Desmond Elliott Prize The Desmond Elliott Prize is an annual award for the best debut novel written in English and published in the UK. The winning novel can be from any genre of fiction and must exhibit depth and breadth with a compelling narrative. The winner receiv ...

for New Fiction, ''The Land of Decoration'' by Grace McCleen.

Winners

2011

The winners were announced on 20 January 2011 *''

City of Bohane ''City of Bohane'' is the debut novel by Ireland's Kevin Barry. The book is set in the year 2053, in a world with minimal technology. It received largely positive reviews and won the 2013 International Dublin Literary Award. Synopsis ''City ...

'' by

Kevin Barry Kevin Gerard Barry (20 January 1902 – 1 November 1920) was an Irish Republican Army (IRA) soldier who was executed by the British Government during the Irish War of Independence. He was sentenced to death for his part in an attack upon a Bri ...

*''The Free World'' by

David Bezmozgis David Bezmozgis ( lv, Dāvids Bezmozgis; born 1973) is a Canadian writer and filmmaker, currently the head of Humber College's School for Writers. Life and career Educational background Born in Riga, Latvia, he came to Canada with his family ...

*''The Registrar's Manual for Detecting Forced Marriages'' by Sophie Hardach *''22 Britannia Road'' by Amanda Hodgkinson https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12240422 Waterstone's unveils debut authors book list 20 January 2011, BBC, Retrieved 28 May 2016 *'' Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew'' by

Shehan Karunatilaka Shehan Karunatilaka (born 1975) is a Sri Lankan writer. He grew up in Colombo, studied in New Zealand and has lived and worked in London, Amsterdam and Singapore. His 2010 debut novel '' Chinaman: The Legend of Pradeep Mathew'' won the Commonwea ...

*'' Pigeon English'' by

Stephen Kelman Stephen Kelman (born 1976) is an English novelist, who grew up on Marsh Farm council estate in Luton. He studied marketing at the University of Bedfordshire,Sam Leith Sam Leith (born 1 January 1974) is an English author, journalist and literary editor of ''The Spectator''. After an education at Eton and Magdalen College, Oxford, Leith worked at the revived satirical magazine ''Punch'', before moving to the ' ...

*''

'' by Tea Obreht - Winner of the 2011 Orange Prize *'' The Sentimentalists'' by

Johanna Skibsrud Johanna Shively Skibsrud (born 1980) is a Canadian writer, whose debut novel '' The Sentimentalists'' won the 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize. Career Skibsrud has published two books of poetry, ''Late Nights with Wild Cowboys'' in 2008 and ''I Do No ...

*'' The Collaborator'' by

Mirza Waheed Mirza Waheed is a novelist who was born and raised in Srinagar but now lives in London. Writing career Mirza has written for the BBC, The Guardian, Granta, Guernica (magazine), Al Jazeera English and The New York Times. His first novel, '' ...

- Shortlisted for The Guardian First Book Prize *''

When God Was a Rabbit ''When God Was a Rabbit'' is a book by Sarah Winman that was first published in 2011. It won Winman various awards including New Writer of the Year in the Galaxy National Book Awards and was one of the books chosen by Richard & Judy in their 2 ...

'' by

Sarah Winman Sarah Winman (born 24 December 1964 in Ilford, Essex) is a British author and actress. Biography In 2011, Winman's debut novel, ''When God Was a Rabbit'' (2011), became an international bestseller and won Winman several awards including New ...

- Winner of

Edinburgh Book Festival The Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF) is a book festival that takes place in the last three weeks of August every year in Charlotte Square in the centre of Scotland’s capital city, Edinburgh. Billed as ''The largest festival of its k ...

Newton First Book Prize

2012

The winners were announced on 20 January 2012 *'' The Panopticon'' by

Jenni Fagan Dr Jenni Fagan (born 1977) is a Scottish novelist and poet. She has written several books including fiction novel '' The Panopticon,'' screenplays and several books of poetry. She was named Scottish writer of the year 2016 by ''The Glasgow Her ...

*''Absolution'' by Patrick Flanery - Longlisted for The

Guardian First Book Award The Guardian First Book Award was a literary award presented by ''The Guardian'' newspaper. It annually recognised one book by a new writer. It was established in 1999, replacing the Guardian Fiction Award or Guardian Fiction Prize that the newspap ...

*''Shelter'' by Frances Greenslade *'' The Art of Fielding'' by

Chad Harbach Chad Harbach (born 1975) is an American writer. An editor at the journal '' n + 1'', he is the author of the 2011 novel '' The Art of Fielding''. Early life and education Harbach grew up in Racine, Wisconsin. His father was an accountant and his ...

- Shortlisted for The Guardian First Book Award *''The Snow Child'' by

Eowyn Ivey Eowyn Ivey is an American author based in Alaska. She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2013 for her debut novel '' The Snow Child''. Life and career Ivey was raised in Alaska. Her mother named her after Éowyn, a character ...

*''

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry ''The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry'' is a novel by Rachel Joyce, published in 2012. Joyce's first novel, it was a long-list finalist (top 12) for the 2012 Man Booker Prize,Wakin, Daniel J. (25 July 2012). AshantMan Booker Prize Finalists A ...

'' by Rachel Joyce - Longlisted for 2012 Man Booker Prize *'' The Land of Decoration'' by Grace McCleen - Winner of the

Desmond Elliott Prize The Desmond Elliott Prize is an annual award for the best debut novel written in English and published in the UK. The winning novel can be from any genre of fiction and must exhibit depth and breadth with a compelling narrative. The winner receiv ...

for New Fiction *''Signs of Life'' by Anna Raverat *''The Lifeboat'' by Charlotte Rogan *''

The Age of Miracles ''The Age of Miracles'' is the debut novel by the American writer Karen Thompson Walker. It was published in June 2012 by Random House in the United States and Simon & Schuster in the United Kingdom. The book chronicles the fictional phenomenon of ...

'' by

Karen Thompson Walker Karen Thompson Walker is an American novelist. Her first book, ''The Age of Miracles'' was published in 2012. Walker's second novel, '' The Dreamers'' was published in 2019. Walker has been featured in ''Jezebel'', ''Electric Literature'', ''Pub ...

*''Care of Wooden Floors'' by Will Wiles

2013

The winners were announced on 14 January 2013 *''Pig's Foot'' by Carlos Acosta *''Idiopathy'' by

Sam Byers Sam Byers (born 1979) is a British novelist. He was born in Bury St Edmunds and now lives in Norwich, where he studied at the University of East Anglia (MA Creative Writing, 2004; PhD, 2014). Byers' debut novel ''Idiopathy'', a satire based on ...

*'' Y'' by

Marjorie Celona Marjorie Celona (born January 7, 1981) is an American-Canadian writer. Their debut novel, '' Y'', published in 2012, won the Waterstones 11 literary prize and was a shortlisted nominee for the Center for Fiction's Flaherty-Dunnan First Novel Priz ...

*''The Universe Versus Alex Woods'' by Gavin Extence *''

Burial Rites ''Burial Rites'' (2013) is a novel by Australian author Hannah Kent, based on a true story. Background Kent was given inspiration to write Burial Rites during her time as an exchange student in Iceland when she was 17, where she learnt the st ...

'' by

Hannah Kent Hannah Kent (born 1985) is an Australian writer, known for two novels – ''Burial Rites'' (2013) and ''The Good People'' (2016). Her third novel, ''Devotion'', was published in 2021. Early life and education Kent was born in 1985 grew up in t ...

*''The Fields'' by

Kevin Maher Kevin Andrew Maher (born 17 October 1976) is a former professional footballer and coach who played as a midfielder. He is head coach of National League side Southend United. Born in England, he represented the Republic of Ireland internationall ...

*''The Son'' by

Michel Rostain Michel Rostain (born 28 September 1942, in Mende, Lozère, is a French lyric and musical theater director as well as a writer. Biography Michel Rostain began studying music as an autodidact at the age of seven. He pursued this intensely through ...

*'' The Spinning Heart'' by

Donal Ryan Donal Ryan (born 1976) is an Irish people, Irish writer. He has published six novels and one short story collection. In 2016, novelist and playwright Sebastian Barry described Ryan in The Guardian, ''The Guardian'' newspaper as "the king of the n ...

*''Marriage Material'' by

Sathnam Sanghera Sathnam Sanghera (born 1976) is a British journalist and best-selling author. Early life and education Sathnam Sanghera was born to Indian Punjabi parents in Wolverhampton in 1976. His parents had emigrated from India to the UK in 1968.Batt, D ...

*'' Ghana Must Go'' by

Taiye Selasi Taiye Selasi (born 2 November 1979) is a British-American writer and photographer. Of Nigerian and Ghanaian origin, she describes herself as a "local" of Accra, Berlin, New York and Rome. Early life and education Taiye Selasi was born in Lond ...

*''Ballistics'' by

D. W. Wilson D. W. Wilson (David William) (born 1985) is a Canadian author born in Cranbrook, British Columbia. He is the author of the short story collection, ''Once You Break A Knuckle'' published under Penguin Books Ltd in Canada and Bloomsbury in the UK. ...

References

{{Reflist, 2 British literary awards Awards established in 2011 2011 establishments in the United Kingdom First book awards