Republic of Consciousness Prize 2021
Selected by the Bookshop
The Republic of Consciousness Prize recognises the incredible, innovative work brought to our attention by the small presses of the UK and Ireland, with prize money going to the presses, as well as the authors, recognising their invaluable contribution to the wider literary ecosystem.
The longlist is always full of brilliant, unexpected stuff, and this year’s is no different. As judge John Mitchinson said, ‘Should anyone ask about the health of the independent sector in this most difficult of years, this pile of ten very different books offers a complete and definitive answer.’
From the publisher:
Translated by Fionn PetchIn his final version of the Variations, Glenn Gould introduces a subtle, almost imperceptible change, breaking with the nocturnal circularity. As if he didn’t want the Count to sleep after all, condemning…
From the publisher:
In a well-appointed examination in London, a young woman unburdens herself to a certain Dr Seligman. Though she can barely see above his head, she holds forth about her life and desires, and her struggles with her sexuality and identity.…
From the publisher:
“Pheby is a writer possessed of unusual – indeed, extraordinary – powers.” —The GuardianGOD IS DEAD, his corpse hidden in the catacombs beneath Mordew.In the slums of the sea-battered city a young boy called…
From the publisher:
Long before the collapse of the Information Age, in the twelfth century since the appearance of the prophet Christ, young Hildegard finds grace.In this story of survival and miracles, Hildegard encounters love, both queer and divine, and…
Recommend by Gayle
‘The rediscovery of a forgotten Black modernist poet who hung out with the Bright Young Things sends Mathilda on journey involving a mysterious artists’ residency somewhere in Mitteleuropa, secret societies engaging in occult practices, and a lot of fabulous sounding drinks. LOTE by Shola von Reinhold manages to be both a serious interrogation of the lost queerness and Blackness of history, and delicious fun to read.’
From the publisher:
April 1976: St Constance, a tiny Caribbean village on the island of Black Conch, at the start of the rainy season. A fisherman sings to himself in his pirogue, waiting for a catch – but attracts a sea-dweller he doesn’t expect.…
From the publisher:
Ezekiel Hooper Stark is a cultural anthropologist nudging forty. His interest is family snapshots. At home, he is absorbed by his own family's idiosyncrasies, perversities, and pathologies, until romantic betrayal sends him spiralling into…
From the publisher:
Alicia and her brother Avi are interned in a camp where children are taught to forget Belarusian and to speak Russian, aided by the use of drugs as well as surgery on the larynx. They escape into the forest through a hole cut in the wire,…
From the publisher:
A true original. In this stunningly unusual prose debut, Doireann Ní Ghríofa sculpts essay and autofiction to explore inner life and the deep connection felt between two writers centuries apart. In the 1700s, an Irish…
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