Novels by three UEA alumni have been longlisted for this year’s Desmond Elliott Prize, which is worth £10,000 to the winner: The Honours by Tim Clare, Things We Have in Common by Tasha Kavanagh, and Mrs Engels by Gavin McCrea. Tim (pictured) graduated from the MA in Creative Writing (Prose Fiction) in 2004 and published his first book, the memoir We Can’t All Be Astronauts, in 2009. Tasha graduated from the MA in Creative Writing in 1992 and has also published nine picture books for children under her maiden name, Tasha Pym. Things We Have in Common was last year shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award. Gavin completed his MA in Creative Writing (Prose Fiction) in 2009 and gained his PhD in Creative and Critical Writing in 2013. Mrs Engels was also recently shortlisted for the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction and was last year nominated for the Guardian First Book Award. The shortlist for the Desmond Elliott Prize will be announced on 6 May, and the winner on 22 June.
Tim Clare, Tasha Kavanagh and Gavin McCrea longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize
