Our judge Martin Penny, author of several crime books, has this to say:
'I’ve finally finished reading all of last year’s entries to the Black Spring Crime-Writing Prize. It’s been a long (but satisfying) process and I finished somewhat later than anticipated, so my apologies to those I’ve kept in suspense.
Once again, the submissions covered many different aspects of the genre and contained great diversity. Selecting a winner is very much down to personal opinion, and my notes after my first reading of Expiation included such gems as: Excellent throughoutand Tense and very well written. So, Expiation is a very well deserved winner.
The two runners-up should also be proud of their manuscripts, which I thoroughly enjoyed reading. I’d like to thank everyone who entered and assure them that their work was read from beginning to end.
I look forward to seeing Expiation in print.'
Comments (2 Responses)
02 June, 2021
Steve Welsh
Excited to have won. Looking forward to reading the short listed submissions. I’m particularly pleased to have written a crime fiction novel set in my home town of Jarrow in northeast England.
27 May, 2021
Karmen Spiljak
Congratulations to the winner! Can’t wait to read their book. I’m also delighted that my novel got an honourable mention :)
02 June, 2021
Steve Welsh
Excited to have won. Looking forward to reading the short listed submissions. I’m particularly pleased to have written a crime fiction novel set in my home town of Jarrow in northeast England.