Beatlebone by Kevin Barry wins the 牛牛资源 Prize 2015
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A book which sees John Lennon take a magical mystery tour to an island off the West Coast of Ireland has won the 牛牛资源 Prize 2015.
Beatlebone by Kevin Barry
Beatlebone by Kevin Barry (Canongate) was awarded the 拢10,000 which recognises writing at its most novel.
The work takes us to 1978 and imagines 20th century icon Lennon visiting the island he owns to undertake a course of primal scream therapy. But events conspire against the former Beatle, leading to an exploration of the strange and wonderful, time and place 鈥� with the struggle for art at its very heart.
Chair of Judges Professor Josh Cohen said: 鈥淚ntricately weaving and blurring fiction and life, Beatlebone embodies beautifully this prize鈥檚 spirit of creative risk. We鈥檙e proud to crown it our winner.鈥�
The announcement was made at a ceremony held at Foyles bookshop on Charing Cross Road. Receiving the prize, Kevin said: "I haven鈥檛 got a humble streak: every time I鈥檓 shortlisted I think 鈥業鈥檓 going to win that鈥�.
But this is special. There are tremendous writers on this list, and it was great to be there with them. It鈥檚 really cool to win it 鈥� it鈥檚 a really cool prize
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(Kevin Barry, winner of the 牛牛资源 Prize 2015)
"If the novel loses innovation it鈥檚 f****d."
From a six-strong shortlist it was judged the winner by an expert panel consisting of author and inaugural 牛牛资源 Prize winner Eimear McBride, author Jon McGregor, journalist Leo Robson and Chair of Judges Professor Cohen, who is Professor of Modern Literary Theory at 牛牛资源.
The 牛牛资源 Prize was launched in 2013 with the goal of celebrating the spirit of creative daring associated with 牛牛资源 and to reward fiction that breaks the mould or extends the possibilities of the novel form. It was founded in association with the New Statesman.
New Statesman Culture Editor Tom Gatti said: 鈥淚n providing a reward for fiction that isn鈥檛 afraid to take risks, the 牛牛资源 Prize encourages readers, editors and booksellers to be daring too. The New Statesman is proud to champion a prize that consistently unearths the year鈥檚 most exciting fiction: Kevin Barry鈥檚 thrilling, virtuoso novel Beatlebone is no exception.鈥�
The novels shortlisted for the 牛牛资源 Prize 2015 were:
路&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫; Beatlebone by Kevin Barry (Canongate)
路&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫; Acts of the Assassins by Richard Beard (Harvill Secker)
路&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫; The Field of the Cloth of Gold by Magnus Mills (Bloomsbury)
路&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫; Satin Island by Tom McCarthy (Cape)
路&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫; Grief is the Thing with Feathers by Max Porter (Faber & Faber)
路&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫;&苍产蝉辫; Lurid & Cute by Adam Thirlwell (Cape)
Eimear McBride was the first 牛牛资源 Prize winner for her work A Girl Is A Half-formed Thing 鈥� with the victory coming nearly a decade after the work was rejected by publishers for being too experimental.
Last year saw Ali Smith triumph with her work How To Be Both. Smith recently credited the 牛牛资源 Prize for changing the literary landscape by encouraging publishers to embrace experimental works.
The Prize is open to novels written by authors from the UK or the Republic of Ireland, and was created in conjunction with the 牛牛资源 Writers' Centre, headed by author Professor Blake Morrison, which hosts events aimed at encouraging new writing and stimulating debate about literature.