Two UEA alumni have been shortlisted for the Nero Book Awards. Stephen Buoro (pictured), who graduated from the MA in Creative Writing (Prose Fiction) in 2019 and is currently studying for a fully-funded PhD in Creative & Critical Writing, is nominated for The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa in the Debut Fiction category; and Paul Murray, who graduated from the MA in Creative Writing (Prose Fiction) in 2001, is nominated for The Bee Sting in the Fiction category. The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa won second prize in the 2020 Deborah Rogers Foundation Writers Award while still in manuscript, and earlier this year Stephen was selected, along with fellow UEA graduate Jyoti Patel, as one of the Observer’s Ten Best New Novelists. The Bee Sting was selected as a finalist for the Kirkus Prize in the fiction category and was shortlisted for this year’s Booker Prize. The Nero Book Awards are in their inaugural year and seek to celebrate the craft of great writing and the joy of reading. The winner of each category will be announced in January and will receive £5,000. The overall winner of the Nero Gold prize, announced in February, will be awarded an additional £30,000.