Guardian First Book Shortlist Announced

30 October 2009

The Shortlist for the Guardian First Book Award 2010 has been revealed and this year fiction is dominating the prize.
Out of the five shortlisted works, there are three novels,  a collection of short stories and a work of reportage.
The shortlist was chosen by a judging panel that included the poet Tobias Hill and the BBC's Martha Kearney, along with five Waterstone's reading groups in Oxford, London, Leeds, Edinburgh and Bath.

The winner of the award and £10,000 cheque will be revealed on 2nd December. Previous winners have included Alex Ross and Zadie Smith.

Shortlist in full: Michael Peel - A Swamp Full of Dollars, Eleanor Catton - The Rehearsal, Samantha Harvey - The Wilderness, Reif Larsen - The Selected Works of T S Spivet, Petina Gappah - An Elegy for Easterly