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The Green Carnation Prize 2014 has been awarded to Anneliese Mackintosh for her book Any Other Mouth (Freight).
The Green Carnation Prize, founded by Simon Savidge and Paul Magrs, is a prize specifically awarded to LGBT+ writers for any form of the written word, from memoir to fiction, poetry to non-fiction between October 2013 and September 2014. Works of translation were eligible for the first time in 2014. Unlike the Polari First Book Prize, the Green Carnation Prize does not have to go to a debut work.
Speaking of the book, chair of judges and journalist Kaite Welsh said,
‘Choosing a winner out of such an excellent shortlist should have been difficult, but we were all unanimous in loving Any Other Mouth, a raw, uncompromising debut by Annaliese Mackintosh that defies categorization. It isn’t quite a short story collection or a novel and, as she tells us at the very beginning, it’s only almost a memoir. In the end, the only category Any Other Mouth fits neatly into is the one of very, very good books. It stood out on a first reading for everyone, and we found that every conversation we had kept circling back to it. Grief, sex, family, growing up – there’s no theme here that isn’t universal, but in Annaliese’s hands they seem painfully personal. Rarely does a memoir or a short story collection bring you into the mind of the author quite so intimately. We were all struck by how skilfully Annaliese drew the fragments of her story together –
it’s a masterclass in storytelling through non-linear narrative. This year’s shortlist is an exciting mix of emerging voices and established talent. The diversity of genre and styles on display show what an exciting time it is for queer literature.’
The prize’s partner, Foyles, said via Marketing Manager Simon Heafield,
‘We’re thrilled that Anneliese Mackintosh has won, out of such a strong and diverse shortlist. This is a book that straddles the genres of fiction, memoir and short stories with great aplomb, and its winning the prize provides us with a great chance to put the book into the hands of more customers and help give such a talented writer the readership she clearly deserves.’
Anneliese Mackintosh is a graduate of the University of Nottingham and has a Masters degree from the renowned Edwin Morgan Centre for Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow. In 2012 she was shortlisted for the Bridport Short Story Prize and her fiction has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio Scotland, published in UK magazines Edinburgh Review, Gutter, and From Glasgow to Saturn, and US magazines Zygote in my Coffee, Citizens For Decent Literature, and Up the Staircase Quarterly. Anneliese was co-founder of Words Per Minute, the leading Scottish literary club night, and is an Associate Editor of indie publisher Cargo. She lives in Manchester.
The panel of judges also included writer and journalist Gareth McLean, Hodder and Stoughton editor Laura Macdougall and writer and educator Jonathan Kemp.
The prize has partnered with Foyles, with the bookstore offering event space in their new flagship store to host the award ceremony on 28 November. Public events will follow in Spring 2015 to celebrate the prize.
For more information please visit greencarnationprize.com.
