Judges and new entry rules announced for Goldsmiths Prize 2019

Erica Wagner, Guy Gunaratne, Anna Leszkiewicz and Sjón will judge the Goldsmiths Prize 2019: a £10,000 prize rewarding fiction at its most novel.

Eligibility for the Goldsmiths Prize is now extended to authors of any nationality, provided they have been resident in the UK or Republic of Ireland for a minimum of three years. Previously, the Goldsmiths Prize was only open to those born in the UK or Republic of Ireland. 

This year’s judges are writer, critic and former literary editor of The Times, Erica Wagner; novelist, video journalist and previous Goldsmiths Prize nominee Guy Gunaratne; the New Statesman’s Deputy Culture Editor Anna Leszkiewicz; and Icelandic poet, novelist and Academy Award-nominated lyricist Sjón.

The judges were announced on 23 January at an event at Goldsmiths, University of London featuring Agustín Fernández Mallo and Isabel Waidner. 

The Goldsmiths Prize was launched in 2013 in association with the New Statesman.

Tom Gatti, New Statesman Deputy Editor says: “The Goldsmiths Prize has worked wonders in bringing ambitious, challenging fiction back into the public eye. The New Statesman is delighted to continue our partnership.”

Eimear McBride was the first winner of the £10,000 prize for her work A Girl Is A Half-formed Thing, followed by Ali Smith in 2014 for How to Be Both, Kevin Barry in 2015 for Beatlebone, Mike McCormack in 2016 for Solar Bones, Nicola Barker with H(A)PPY in 2017 and Robin Robertson in 2018 for The Long Take. 

Visit the Goldsmiths prize website and follow @GoldsmithsPrize #GoldsmithsPrize2019 on Twitter.

Goldsmiths Prize 2019 key dates:

25 January – submissions open

29 March – submissions close

2 October – six-book shortlist announced

13 November – winner announced

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(This article was updated on Monday 13 May 2019 with information on new chair of judges Erica Wagner, following the withdrawal of Maura Dooley due to ill health)