Waterstone's 11 - Our pick of the best first novels of 2011
"Waterstone's plays a crucial role in bringing writing from debut authors, especially of literary fiction, to the attention of the reading public. Our booksellers delight in finding new authors, being among the first to read them and then finding new readers for them. So, it is a team effort. In that spirit, we have put together the Waterstone's 11. We asked British publishers to submit the best of their literary debuts scheduled for publication in 2011. Authors could be from any country, writing on any theme or subject - our only condition was that the books must be great. We were not disappointed in the result."
"This is the Waterstone's 11. Enjoy them, and don't keep them to yourselves."
Dominic Myers, Managing Director, Waterstone's.
Téa Obreht
The Tiger's Wife by Téa Obreht
Téa Obreht was born in 1985 in the former Yugoslavia, and was raised in Belgrade. She was the youngest author on The New Yorker's Top 20 Writers under 40 List, and In 2009, was one of the youngest authors ever to be extracted in the The New Yorker magazine. The extract was later selected for the 2010 Best American Nonrequired Reading, edited by Dave Eggers. She lives in Ithaca, New York, where she is a lecturer at Cornell University.
Sam Leith
The Coincidence Engine by Sam Leith
Sam Leith was, until recently, the Literary Editor of the Telegraph. He now writes for many leading publications including the Guardian and the Evening Standard. His previous books Dead Pets and Sod's Law have been published to critical acclaim. The Coincidence Engine is his first novel. Sam Leith lives in London.
Johanna Skibsrud
The Sentimentalists by Johanna Skibsrud
Johanna Skibsrud was born in Nova Scotia, Canada in 1980. Her debut novel, The Sentimentalists, was awarded the 2010 Scotiabank Giller Prize. The novel is based, in part, on the true story of her own father's experiences during the Vietnam War - specifically his involvement in a controversial operation, which resulted in civilian casualties. Johanna currently lives between Paris and Montreal.
When God Was A Rabbit by Sarah Winman
When God Was A Rabbit by Sarah Winman
Sarah was born and grew up in Essex. She attended the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art and went on to act in theatre, film and television. Five years ago she enrolled on a literature fiction course and realised what she wanted to do. When God Was a Rabbit is her first novel. She lives in London, but spends as much time as possible in Cornwall, a place that both fascinates and inspires her.
Stephen Kelman
Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman
Stephen Kelman was born in Luton in 1976. After finishing his degree he worked variously as a warehouse operative, a careworker, and in marketing and local government administration. He decided to pursue his writing seriously in 2005, and has completed several feature screenplays since then. Pigeon English is his first novel.
Kevin Barry
City of Bohane by Kevin Barry
Kevin Barry's first novel City of Bohane is to be published in April 2011. His short stories have appeared in the New Yorker, the Granta Book of the Irish Short Story, Best European Fiction 2011, and many other journals and anthologies around the world. He previously worked as a columnist with the Irish Examiner and the Glasgow Sunday Herald. He divides his time between County Sligo and Dublin.
Mirza Waheed
The Collaborator by Mirza Waheed
Mirza Waheed was born and brought up in Srinagar, Kashmir. He eventually went on to study English Literature at the University of Delhi where he read the classics among other texts. He then worked as a journalist and editor in the city for four years and came to London in 2001 to join the BBC's Urdu Service, where he now works as an editor. Waheed has been writing since he was ten and The Collaborator is his first novel.
Shehan Karunatilaka
Chinaman by Shehan Karunatilaka
Shehan Karunatilaka was born in Sri Lanka in 1975. He studied at Massey University in New Zealand, before becoming an advertising copywriter. He has worked for agencies in Sri Lanka, London and Singapore and won many awards for his campaigns. Shehan plays bass with the band Independence Square. Chinaman, his debut novel, was first published in Sri Lanka, and won the 2008 Gratiaen Prize for the best Sri Lankan novel of the year.
Amanda Hodgkinson
22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson
Amanda Hodgkinson was born in Somerset and grew up in a small seaside village in Essex. She moved to France with her husband and their two daughters seven years ago, after falling in love with a ruined house. She had just finished an MA in creative writing at UEA and wanted to write a novel. While renovating the house, she developed other strands to her career, working as a columnist, and writing for various UK magazines. But finally she found time to write her novel.
Sophie Hardach
The Registrar's Manual for Detecting Forced Marriages by Sophie Hardach
Sophie Hardach wrote The Registrar's Manual for Detecting Forced Marriages while working as a journalist. Sophie has always wanted to be a writer, encouraged by her early success writing romances for school friends. Sadly, moving from short stories to literary fiction was more difficult than she thought, but since persistence is a core characteristic of migrants as well as writers, her response was to keep writing.
David Bezmozgis
The Free World by David Bezmozgis
David Bezmozgis was born in Riga, Latvia, in 1973 and emigrated with his parents to Toronto in 1980. His first book Natasha and Other Stories (2004) was described by the Observer as "quietly astonishing fables of unmistakeable brilliance" and was widely compared to the work of Babel, Roth and Saul Bellow. He is also a film-maker, whose narrative and documentary films have played at festivals internationally, from Sundance to Shanghai.
