New Angle Prize and Creative Suffolk Author Award: 2025 Shortlists

Two literary awards recognising East Anglian writing have announced their 2025 shortlists. The New Angle Prize for Literature (NAP) and the Creative Suffolk Author Award (CSAA), presented in partnership with the University of Suffolk, highlight books influenced by the region’s people, places, and culture.

The New Angle Prize is a biennial £3,000 award for a recently published book of literary merit set in or inspired by East Anglia, defined as Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, North Essex, and the Fens. The 2025 shortlist includes: Where Are The Fellows Who Cut The Hay? by Robert Ashton, Blythe Spirit by Ian Collins, In All Weathers by Matt Gaw, Looking For Lucie by Amanda Addison, Sea Defences by Hilary Taylor, and The Low Road by Katharine Quarmby.

Judges for this year’s New Angle Prize are Jake Smith, writer and arts producer; Juliet Blaxland, author of The Easternmost House; and Lesley Dolphin, long-time radio broadcaster and supporter of East Anglian culture.

The Creative Suffolk Author Award recognises a writer with a strong connection to Suffolk whose work contributes to the county’s creative output. The 2025 shortlist features: Heads Will Roll by Josh Winning, Sea Defences by Hilary Taylor, An Ideal Husband by Erica James, The Scapegoat by Lucy Hughes-Hallett, Latch by Rebecca Goss, and Blythe Spirit by Ian Collins.

The CSAA judging panel includes Ruth Dugdall, novelist and Royal Literary Fellow; Patience Pounds, Associate Professor at the University of Suffolk; and Sue Williamson MBE, former Arts Council Director for Libraries.

These awards are run by the Ipswich Institute, the University of Suffolk and the Suffolk Book League.

The winners of both awards will be announced at an event on Thursday 25 September 2025, held at Hintlesham Golf Club. The event is open to the public and tickets are now available from the Ipswich Institute. For more information and updates, visit the New Angle Prize page on the Ipswich Institute website, www.ipswichinstitute.org.uk .

Jo Rooks