David Nicholls, Dolly Alderton, Caroline O’Donoghue and Kaliane Bradley are among the writers in the running to have a pig named after their book.
The authors have been shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse prize for comic fiction, which highlights the funniest newly published novels – particularly those that evoke the spirit of PG Wodehouse.
“The joy of this shortlist is the sheer variety of comedy in play,” said judging chair Peter Florence. “There are some wickedly funny concepts here, and some beautiful observational humour as characters fall through love and anxiety.”
One Day author Nicholls was shortlisted for You Are Here, a love story that unfolds across a 10-day walk in the north of England. “For many it will be a comforting antidote to the grimness of our grim world,” wrote Lucy Atkins in her Guardian review.
Alderton’s shortlisted novel, Good Material, is also centred on a relationship – in this case, a failed one: 35-year-old struggling comedian Andy is trying to figure out why Jen broke up with him.
“As ever with Alderton, there’s wisdom in amongst the hilarity as she explores the pressure for women to get down that aisle,” said judge and comedian Pippa Evans. “I tore up my wedding certificate immediately. Then sellotaped it back together as I needed to apply for my daughter’s passport.”
Love is also a theme of Bradley’s shortlisted debut, The Ministry of Time, a time-bending story following the relationship between a civil servant and a Victorian polar explorer.
The winner, to be announced at a London ceremony on 2 December, will be rewarded with Bollinger champagne and the complete set of the Everyman’s Library PG Wodehouse collection. They will also have a pig named after their winning book.
Ferdia Lennon’s novel, Glorious Exploits, which won this year’s Waterstones debut fiction prize, was also shortlisted. The novel – set in 412BC Syracuse in the aftermath of Athens’ failed invasion of Sicily – follows two locals who decide to stage an adaptation of Medea in a quarry where Athenian soldiers are held captive.
In Andrew Hunter Murray’s shortlisted novel A Beginner’s Guide to Breaking and Entering, protagonist Al has found a solution to high rental costs: squatting in luxury properties while their owners are away. “A propulsive plot, an ingenious narrator and lashings of intrigue make this a genuine and thoroughly enjoyable page-turner,” wrote Laura Wilson in the Guardian.
Completing the set is High Vaultage by Chris and Jen Sugden – the first husband-and-wife team to be shortlisted in the prize’s history – and The Rachel Incident by O’Donoghue.
Peter Florence is director of The Conversation at St Martin-in-the-Fields. Joining him and Evans on this year’s judging panel is comedian Sindhu Vee, broadcaster and author James Naughtie, vice chair of University of Wales and chair of Rewilding Britain Justin Albert and Everyman’s Library publisher David Campbell. The shortlist was selected from 89 submissions, published between 1 June 2023 and 31 May 2024.
Previous winners of the award include Alexander McCall Smith, Percival Everett, Nina Stibbe and Ian McEwan. Last year, comedian Bob Mortimer won the prize for his debut novel The Satsuma Complex.
