Somerset Maugham Award Explained

The Somerset Maugham Award is a British literary prize given each year by the Society of Authors. Set up by William Somerset Maugham in 1947 the awards enable young writers to enrich their work by gaining experience in foreign countries. The awards go to writers under the age of 35[1] with works published in the year before the award; the work can be either non-fiction, fiction or poetry.[2]

Since 1964 multiple winners have usually been chosen in the same year. In 1975 and in 2012 the award was not given.[3]

List of winners

1940s

Somerset Maugham Award winners, 1947–1949!Year!Author!Title!Publisher
1947InnocentsHogarth Press
1948Journey to the InteriorJonathan Cape
1949Elegies for the Dead in CyrenaicaJohn Lehmann

1950s

Somerset Maugham Award winners, 1950–1959!Year!Author!Title!Publisher!Ref.
1950Tomato Cain & Other Stories Collins
1951Scamp John Lehmann
1952Longman
1953Hear and Forgive Gollancz
1954Five Short Novels Michael Joseph
1955Lucky Jim Gollancz
1956Deutsch
1957In the Castle of My Skin Michael Joseph[4] [5]
1958Preliminary Essays Macmillan
1959Faber and Faber

1960s

Somerset Maugham Award winners, 1960–1969!Year!Author!Title!Publisher!Ref.
1960Faber and Faber
1961Miguel Street Deutsch
1962Eyre & Spottiswoode
1963Flight Into Camden Longman
1964Time of Arrival Weidenfeld
Gollancz
1965Negatives Jonathan Cape
1966Collins
1966Constable
1967Trawl Secker & Warburg
Jonathan Cape
1968At The Jerusalem Jonathan Cape[6] [7]
Death of a Naturalist Faber and Faber
1969Several Perceptions Heinemann

1970s

Somerset Maugham Award winners, 1970–1979!Year!Author!Title!Publisher!Ref.
1970 Hodder & Stoughton
Monk Dawson Secker & Warburg
1971Longman
Tussy Is Me Weidenfeld
I’m the King of the Castle Hamish Hamilton
1972Terry Street Faber and Faber
Fly Away Home Hodder & Stoughton
1973Play Things Gollancz[8]
Macmillan
Prudence Dictates Hart-Davis
1974Jonathan Cape[9] [10]
1975No Award[11]
1976Chatto & Windus
First Love, Last Rites Jonathan Cape[12]
1977Shelley: The Pursuit Quartet Books
1978Faber and Faber
My Life Closed Twice Secker & Warburg
1979Jack & Jill Duckworth[13]
Daughter of Jerusalem Blond & Briggs

1980s

Somerset Maugham Award winners, 1980–1989!Year!Author!Title!Publisher!Ref.
1980Allen & Unwin
Bomber Command Michael Joseph[14]
Arcadia Oxford University Press
1981Metroland Jonathan Cape
Hearts of Gold Allison & Busby[15] [16]
Secker & Warburg
1982Hamish Hamilton
Lantern Lecture Faber and Faber
1983Keepers of the House Jonathan Cape
1984Hamish Hamilton
Jonathan Cape
Bloodaxe Books[17]
1985Dark Glasses Chatto & Windus[18]
By the Fisheries Jonathan Cape
Her Living Image Faber and Faber[19] [20] [21]
1986Family Myths and Legends Andre Deutsch[22]
Frontiers Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Tongues of Flame Heinemann
1987Heinemann[23]
Isaac Campion Julia MacRae
Chatto & Windus
1988Bloomsbury
Selling Manhattan Anvil
Whore Banquets Gollancz Heinemann
1989Romantic Affinities Bodley Head
Chatto & Windus
Faber and Faber

1990s

Somerset Maugham Award winners, 1990–1999!Year!Author!Title!Publisher!Ref.
1990Our Grandmothers' DrumsSecker & Warburg
Secker & Warburg[24]
Collins Harvill
1991Macmillan[25]
Honour Thy FatherSecker & Warburg[26] [27]
Four Bare Legs in a BedHeinemann
1992But BeautifulJonathan Cape[28] [29]
Lempriere’s DictionaryS. Stevenson
HouseholderChatto & Windus
1993JellaGollancz
Out of the RainBloodaxe Books[30]
Bucket of TonguesSecker & Warburg[31] [32]
1994Other LoversBloodaxe Books
Looking for the Possible DanceSecker & Warburg
Crossing PlaceHarperCollins
1995YounghusbandHarperCollins[33]
Faber and Faber
Bloodaxe Books[34]
Chatto & Windus[35]
1996Truffle BedsFaber and Faber[36]
Morvern CallarVintage[37]
1997Flamingo
SlatternChatto & Windus[38]
Kitchen VenomHamish Hamilton
I May Be Some TimeFaber and Faber
1998Picador, Macmillan[39]
This Bloody Mary is the Last Thing I OwnFaber and Faber
Fourth Estate
Angry White PyjamasIndigo
1999Once In a House On FirePicador, Macmillan
Picador, Macmillan
Faber and Faber
Bring Home the RevolutionFourth Estate

2000s

Somerset Maugham Award winners, 2000–2009!Year!Author!Title!Publisher!Ref.
2000HarperCollins[40]
AffinityVirago Press[41]
2001Picador, Macmillan
Pobby and DinganJonathan Cape
2002Black Earth CityGranta
Abacus
2003Picador, Macmillan
Hamish Hamilton[42]
If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable ThingsBloomsbury[43] [44]
2004Two Kinds of SilenceManuscript Publishing[45]
Mountains of the MindGranta
Daughters of JerusalemPicador, Macmillan[46] [47] [48]
2005Passing Under Heaven Abacus
Review[49] [50]
2006IncendiaryChatto & Windus
Skirrid HillSeren Books
On BeautyHamish Hamilton
2007Running for the HillsJohn Murray[51]
Harvill Secker[52] [53]
2008Canongate Books[54]
On PurposeFaber and Faber[55]
Joshua SpasskyCape[56]
Miss Herbert (US title: The Delighted States) Cape[57] [58]
2009John Murray
Cape
Alasdair Gray: A Secretary’s BiographyBloomsbury[59]
John Murray
Harvill Secker
Once Upon a Time in EnglandCanongate Books[60]

2010s

Somerset Maugham Award winners, 2010–2019!Year!Author!Title!Publisher!Prize!Ref.
2010What Price Liberty? Faber and Faber£2,000[61]
White is for Witching Picador£3,000[62] [63]
Talk of the Town Picador£5,000[64]
2011Bloodaxe£3,500
Romantic Moderns Thames and Hudson£3,500
In the Flesh Chatto Poetry£3,500[65]
2012No award given
2013Sceptre£2,500[66]
Salt£2,500
Cape£2,500
Diving Belles Bloomsbury£2,500
2014Orkney Granta£2,000
Hunters in the Snow Glass Delusion Cape£4,000
Simon & Schuster£4,000[67]
2015How to Ruin a Queen: Marie Antoinette, the Stolen Diamonds and the Scandal that Shook the French Throne John Murray£2,500[68]
Black Country Chatto & Windus£2,500
Lolito Canongate Books£2,500
Eat My Heart Out Serpent’s Tail£2,500
2016An Account Of The Decline Of The Great Auk, According To One Who Saw It JM Originals£2,500
Mr & Mrs Disraeli: A Strange Romance Chatto & Windus£2,500
Physical Cape Poetry£2,500[69] [70] [71]
We Don’t Know What We’re Doing Faber and Faber£2,500
Happiness Faber and Faber£2,500
2017Vintage£5,000[72]
Sunshine Penned in the Margins£5,000
Infinite Ground Atlantic Books£5,000
2018Kumukanda Chatto Poetry£5,250[73]
Elmet JM Originals£5,250
All the Prayers in the House Bloodaxe£5,250
2019Penned in the Margins£4,000[74] [75]
Chatto & Windus£4,000
Shrines of Upper Austria Carcanet£4,000
Mrs Gaskell and Me Picador£4,000

2020s

Somerset Maugham Award winners, 2020–present[76] !Year!Author!Title!Publisher!Ref.
2020Michael Tippett: The BiographyWeidenfeld & Nicolson/Orion
Moder DyBirlinn/Polygon
Dialogue Books/Little, Brown & Co.
Unicorn4th Estate
2021Dark, Salt, ClearBloomsbury
RipeIgnition Press
Okapi Books
Pan Macmillan/Picador[77]
2022AmnionGranta, Granta Poetry[78]
Keeping the HouseAnd Other Stories[79]
My Body Keeps Your SecretsIndigo Press
Open WaterPenguin Random House/Viking Press
Overrun by Wild BoarsFlipped Eye Publishing
2023Travis AlabanzaNone of the AboveCanongate[80]
Sussie AnieTo Fill a Yellow HousePhoenix Books
Mya-Rose CraigBirdgirlPenguin
Jay GaoImperiumCarcanet
Gurnaik JohalWe MoveProfile
Moses McKenzieAn Olive Grove in EndsWildfire

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Somerset Maugham Awards :: National Association of Writers in Education :: . 2024-04-16 . www.nawe.co.uk.
  2. Web site: The Somerset Maugham Awards . Society of Authors . 26 April 2021.
  3. Web site: Somerset Maugham Awards . Library Thing . 26 April 2021.
  4. Web site: June 17, 2022 . Rediscover: George Lamming . 2023-02-10 . Shelf Awareness.
  5. Web site: June 16, 2022 . Obituary Note: George Lamming . 2023-02-10 . Shelf Awareness.
  6. Web site: Paul Bailey . 2023-02-10 . . en.
  7. News: Bailey . Paul . 2011-02-02 . Paul Bailey's top 10 stories of old age . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  8. Web site: The Great Circle by Peter Prince . 30 June 1997. 2023-02-10 . Publishers Weekly.
  9. News: Jack . Ian . 2010-09-11 . British novelists: small and mean maybe, but in big demand . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  10. News: 2009-08-25 . Martin Amis at 60 . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  11. Web site: Somerset Maugham Award . 2023-02-10 . AustLit: Discover Australian Stories . en.
  12. News: Bates . Stephen . 2011-01-19 . Ian McEwan says he will accept Jerusalem prize . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  13. Web site: 4 May 1998 . Passing Remarks by Helen Hodgman, Helen Hodgeman . 2023-02-10 . Publishers Weekly.
  14. Web site: June 19, 2012 . Max Hastings Receives 2012 Pritzker Military Award . 2023-02-10 . . en.
  15. News: 2008-08-06 . Clive Sinclair's top 10 westerns . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  16. News: Sinclair . Seth . 2018-05-10 . Clive Sinclair obituary . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  17. News: O'Brien . Sean . 2008-03-10 . Sean O'Brien's workshop . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  18. Web site: Blake Morrison . 2023-02-10 . . en.
  19. Web site: 5 July 2004 . THE VOYAGE HOME by Jane Rogers . 2023-02-10 . Publishers Weekly.
  20. News: Flood . Alison . 2012-05-03 . Arthur C Clarke award goes to Jane Rogers . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  21. News: Rogers . Jane . 2011-08-26 . Novelists need publishers . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  22. Web site: 1 July 1991 . Write to Me by Patricia Ferguson . 2023-02-10 . Publishers Weekly.
  23. Web site: 25 April 1988. The Cormorant by Stephen Gregory . 2023-02-10 . Publishers Weekly.
  24. Web site: 1 January 1992 . Chapel Street by Sam North . 2023-02-10 . Publishers Weekly.
  25. Web site: 2 January 1995 . Riptide by Peter Benson . 2023-02-10 . Publishers Weekly.
  26. Web site: 1 January 1992 . Trick or Treat by Lesley Glaister . 2023-02-10 . Publishers Weekly.
  27. Web site: 1 September 1997 . Easy Peasy by Lesley Glaister . 2023-02-10 . Publishers Weekly.
  28. Web site: May 17, 2016 . Geoff Dyer: The Shape of the Landscape . 2023-02-10 . Shelf Awareness.
  29. News: Dyer . Geoff . 2018-09-30 . On my radar: Geoff Dyer’s cultural highlights . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  30. News: Maxwell . Glyn . 2009-09-17 . Glyn Maxwell's workshop . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  31. Web site: 28 April 1997. Bunker Man by Duncan McLean . 2023-02-10 . Publishers Weekly.
  32. Web site: 17 May 1999 . Bucket of Tongues by Duncan McLean . 2023-02-10 . Publishers Weekly.
  33. Web site: 4 May 1998 . Liberty or Death: India's Journey to Independence and Division by Patrick French . 2023-02-10 . Publishers Weekly.
  34. Web site: Forward Prizes for Poetry 2004 . 2023-02-10 . The Guardian.
  35. Web site: Laura Thompson . 2023-02-10 . . en.
  36. Web site: Forward Prize 2005 . 2023-02-10 . The Guardian.
  37. Web site: 17 February 1997 . Morvern Callar by Alan Warner . 2023-02-10 . Publishers Weekly.
  38. News: 2008-07-01 . Kate Clanchy's workshop . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  39. News: Merritt . Stephanie . 2003-03-30 . Mum's the word . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  40. Web site: The Wreckers: A Story of Killing Seas and Plundered Shipwrecks, from the 18th Century to the Present Day by Bella Bathurst . 13 June 2005. 2023-02-10 . Publishers Weekly.
  41. Web site: Greenstreet . Rosanna . 2005-05-21 . Q&A . 2023-02-10 . . en.
  42. Web site: TRANSMISSION by Hari Kunzru . 30 May 2004 . 2023-02-10 . Publishers Weekly.
  43. Web site: November 29, 2017 . Reading with... Jon McGregor . 2023-02-10 . Shelf Awareness.
  44. News: McGregor . Jon . 2011-01-19 . Jon McGregor's top 10 dead bodies in literature . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  45. News: Pauli . Michelle . 2004-07-14 . If you want something doing ... . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  46. Web site: Charlotte Mendelson . 2023-02-10 . . en.
  47. News: Cummins . Emma . 2016-01-21 . UEA-Guardian Masterclasses student wins Bridport Prize for a first novel . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  48. News: 2015-07-09 . How to improve your novel: A one-day workshop with Charlotte Mendelson . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  49. News: 2011-08-16 . Live webchat: Maggie O'Farrell . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  50. News: Hughes . Sarah . 2020-12-12 . Maggie O'Farrell: 'My children's feedback could be pretty brutal' . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  51. News: Drabble . Emily . 2016-07-07 . Horatio Clare and Penny Thomas win the Branford Boase award . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  52. Web site: Deahl . Rachel . 2009-12-21 . Deals: 12/21/2009 . 2023-02-10 . . en.
  53. News: Shukman . Henry . 2009-01-31 . Flight from the favela . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  54. News: Higgins . Charlotte . 2013-04-15 . Granta list celebrates fresh crop of British novelists . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  55. News: Laird . Nick . 2021-04-10 . On my radar: Nick Laird's cultural highlights . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  56. News: 2017-01-15 . On my radar: Gwendoline Riley’s cultural highlights . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  57. News: Dammann . Guy . 2008-06-19 . Burnside, Thirlwell and Riley among Society of Authors winners . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  58. News: Lewis . Philippa . 2009-08-22 . Miss Herbert by Adam Thirlwell . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0029-7712.
  59. News: Littler . Jo . 2009-09-25 . Alasdair Gray by Rodge Glass . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  60. Web site: May 29, 2014 . Review: The Lemon Grove . 2023-02-10 . Shelf Awareness.
  61. Web site: 29 February 2016. Heyday: The 1850s and the Dawn of the Global Age by Ben Wilson . 2023-02-10 . Publishers Weekly.
  62. News: Akbar . Arifa . 2019-03-02 . Helen Oyeyemi: ‘I had such a lovely time dating different cities’ . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  63. News: 2014-03-02 . Helen Oyeyemi: 'I'm interested in the way women disappoint one another' . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  64. News: Polley . Jacob . 2017-01-29 . On my radar: Jacob Polley’s cultural highlights . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  65. Web site: Adam O'Riordan . 2023-02-10 . . en.
  66. News: Beckerman . Hannah . 2017-08-13 . Ned Beauman: ‘There’s something extremely seductive about madness’ . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  67. News: Ghadiali . Ashish . 2021-05-25 . The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed review–a miscarriage of justice revealed  . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  68. News: Flood . Alison . 2015-06-26 . Betty Trask award goes to Ben Fergusson's 'grittily evocative' debut . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  69. Web site: June 23, 2016 . Awards: Princess of Asturias; PEN Ackerley; Society of Authors . 2023-02-10 . Shelf Awareness.
  70. News: McMillan . Andrew . 2018-08-19 . On my radar: Andrew McMillan’s cultural highlights . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  71. News: Shaffi . Sarah . 2022-06-15 . ‘Landmark’ anthology 100 Queer Poems published for Pride month . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  72. Web site: 2017 Somerset Maugham Award Winners . 2023-02-10 . . en.
  73. News: Chingonyi . Kayo . 2022-08-20 . On my radar: Kayo Chingonyi’s cultural highlights . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  74. News: Flood . Alison . 2019-05-20 . Raymond Antrobus becomes first poet to win Rathbones Folio prize . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  75. News: Sethi . Anita . 2019-12-28 . Raymond Antrobus: ‘In some ways, poetry is my first language’ . en-GB . . 2023-02-10 . 0261-3077.
  76. Web site: 2020-05-08 . Somerset Maugham Awards . 2023-02-09 . . en-GB.
  77. Web site: Graeme Armstrong . 2023-02-09 . Blake Friedmann . en-GB.
  78. Web site: 1 June 2022 . Graphic novel wins at the 2022 Society of Authors’ Awards . 2022-06-06 . Society of Authors.
  79. Web site: 2022-06-01 . Tice Cin's KEEPING THE HOUSE wins a Somerset Maugham Award . 2023-02-10 . Watson Little . en-US.
  80. Web site: 2023-06-28 . ‘A plethora of riches’ – announcing the winners of the 2023 Society of Authors’ Awards - The Society of Authors . 2023-06-30 . en-GB.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Somerset Maugham Award".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2025, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.