The Green Carnation Prize Winner 2010

The Green Carnation Prize Winner 2010
After many hours of discussion and lively debate (and not a tantrum in sight) the judges have managed to whittle down the five shortlisted books for ‘The Green Carnation Prize 2010’ and have come up with their winner…
Paperboy by Christopher Fowler
‘Superman, Dracula, The Avengers, Treasure Island...when you’re ten years old, you can fall in love with any story so long as it’s a good one. But what if you’re growing up in a house without books?
Christopher Fowler's memoir captures life in suburban London as it has rarely been seen: through the eyes of a lonely boy who spends his days between the library and the cinema, devouring novels, comics, cereal packets - anything that might reveal a story. But it’s 1960, and after fifteen years of post-war belt-tightening, his family is not ready to indulge a child cursed with too much imagination...
Caught between an ever-sensible but exhausted mother and a DIY-obsessed father fighting his own demons, Christopher takes refuge in words. His parents try to understand their son’s peculiar obsessions, but fast lose patience with him - and each other. The war of nerves escalates to include every member of the Fowler family, and something has to give, but does it mean that a boy must always give up his dreams for the tough lessons of real life? Beautifully written, this rich and astute evocation of a time and a place recalls a childhood at once eccentric and endearingly ordinary.’

The judges Paul Magrs, Nick Campbell, Lesley Cookman, Katy Manning and Simon Savidge have had a tough time: they thought any of the five books could have won, so it was no easy mission. Simon Savidge who will be taking over as Chair in 2011 said “it was such a difficult decision, each book had its own strengths. ‘God Says No for putting you into the mind set of someone I never thought I could understand and enraging you and making you laugh out loud, London Triptych for its characters (one of which might just be my favourite character of the year) and historical feel over the generations, Children of the Sun for being an importantly disturbing and shocking tale and Man’s World for its humour, emotion and more.’
Yet in the end they were all agreed that Paperboy, which is a memoir with a delightful fictional feel in parts as he writes in the voices of those he remembers. Paul Magrs Chair of the judges for 2010 said 'Paperboy is about the forming of a gay sensibility - but more than that, it's about the growth of a reader and a wonderfully generous and inventive writer. It's a great wodge of social history - of back-to-back houses, plasticine models and exercise books, and how Lois Lane's adventures were always more interesting than Superman's. It's modest, funny and brilliant.'

About The Prize
This year a new literary prize for works of fiction and memoirs by gay men was introduced… Judged by a glittering panel of writers, bloggers and readers ‘The Green Carnation Prize’ is probably the first of its kind in the UK and one we hope will go from strength to strength in future years to come…
The Green Carnation Prize was born when suddenly it was literary award season again and longlists were getting bandied about like crazy. And we thought – wouldn’t it be fun and great to do something a bit different?
And then we thought – there’s no prize yet for gay men’s books in the UK. That’s a scandalous thought. There ought to be something that celebrates and publicizes the breadth and variety of their work. Writing by gay men can be funny, exciting, harrowing, uplifting and challenging – and it can range right across the genres. It can also be created by men from all classes and races.
So here we are – this small panel of co-founders and judges – setting ourselves the somewhat daunting task of looking at what the queer fellas have brought out this year.
There’s no prize money in this… Maybe a bit of kudos for the winner! There’s simply our love and devotion as well, of course – and a bit of shouting about the writing we love. Maybe one day we’ll get sponsorship or something. We also hope we can draw attention to some great male authors that definitely need to be read no matter what your sexuality.
The Green Carnation Prize 2011
Yes, the winner of The Green Carnation Prize 2010 has only just been announced but already plans are in progress for the second year. Publishers will be being contacted with the new submission dates and deadlines after New Year and a new judging panel, with some familiar faces will be announced within the next fortnight.
You can find further information on the website http://greencarnationprize.wordpress.com including more on our delightful judging panel and further updates on events and additional announcements.
Contact Information
For further information, images or any other enquiries please email greencarnationprize@gmail.com