Goldsmiths Prize shortlist for Charlie Porter's debut novel

Charlie Porter's acclaimed first novel Nova Scotia House which was published by Penguin Press UK earlier this year is one of six books shortlisted for the 2025 Goldsmiths Prize, which is awarded annually to "a book that is deemed genuinely novel and embodies the spirit of invention that characterises the genre at its best". 

The judging panel, made up of Amy Sackville (Chair), Mark Haddon, Megan Nolan and Simon Okotie, said:

"Charlie Porter's Nova Scotia House is a moving, lyrical book, written from a deeply embodied stream-of-consciousness. It’s an elegy and a love poem; it’s a celebration of community and of life lived against conformity and compromise. The ‘queer magic’ of its composition runs through every aspect, from voice to characterisation to story to form."

Amy Sackville spoke of how the books on the shortlist are “slippery, genre-defying, vibrant, witty and profound” providing "startling, refreshing, unsettling ways of thinking and feeling".

The winner will be announced on 5 November.

In the meantime, the exciting indy US publisher Nightboat will bringing out their North American edition of Nova Scotia House on 21 October with a publication day launch and talk by Charlie at Hauser & Wirth New York at 6pm.

Finished copies arrived in our office recently and look stunning.