The Goldsmiths Prize 2018: Innovative Fiction, From Shortlist to Winner

Week 1 – Goldsmiths Prize Lecture and Shortlist Announcement. Brief Introduction from c. 6.15pm (or 6.30?), then at 6.45 relocating to the New Statesman/Goldsmiths Prize Lecture and shortlist announcement (7pm start). After a brief introduction to the short course, you will relocate to a lecture theatre in which the shortlist will be announced. This will form the basis of your reading over the next six weeks. Please note that you will need to purchase course texts when the shortlist is announced. All books will be available through sites such as Amazon. Week 2 – 7 – Week-by-Week Study of the Shortlisted Texts. One shortlisted book discussed each evening; including attending the shortlist readings; sessions to be 2hrs except the one when the readings happen – this is likely to be either 25/10 or 1/11, when we expect to hold 1hr class + attend readings – and the week after, when we can hold a 3hr class, so that there is time to discuss all 6 books equally. We will conduct weekly seminars in which you’ll need to read each book in advance of the class. Professor Mars-Jones will guide you through various aspects of the texts such as novelistic technique, construction of plot and character, voice, point of view. As the course progresses you’ll be invited to engage in comparative consideration of the novels studied so far. There will also be one shorter class of one hour, as you will attend the shortlist winners reading excerpts from their books. There will be a longer class the following week to make up for the lost time. Week 8 – Prize Ceremony at Foyles’. Attending the prize ceremony at Foyles’ on Charing Cross Road. Having studied and discussed the shortlisted writers, and having heard them read in person, you will attend the prestigious ceremony in which the winner will be announced. This takes place in Charing Cross Road’s famous bookstore, Foyles’.