Lost For Words

Each of the judges of the Elysian Prize for literature has a reason for accepting the job. For the chairman, MP Malcolm Craig, it is backbench boredom, media personality Jo Cross is on the hunt for a 'relevant' novel, and Oxbridge academic Vanessa Shaw is determined to discover good writing. But for Penny Feather of the Foreign Office, it's all just getting in the way of writing her own thriller. Over the next few weeks they must read hundreds of submissions to find the best book of the year, and so the judges spar, cajole and bargain in order that their chosen title gets the recognition it deserves.Meanwhile, a host of authors are desperate for Elysian glory, including brilliant writer and serial heart-breaker Katherine Burns, lovelorn debut novelist Sam Black, and Sonny, convinced that his magnum opus, The Mulberry Elephant, will take the literary world by storm.

Winner of Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize 2014 (UK)
Long-listed for The Folio Prize 2015 (UK)

“Everything St. Aubyn writes is worth reading for the cleansing rancor of his intelligence and the fierce elegance of his prose.”

Belly-achingly hilarious. Sunday Times
Written with restless wit . . . a pleasure. Observer
What makes you smile, and smile, and smile is the elegance of the writing. Seldom was so much pretentiousness skewered so stylishly. Novel of the Week, Mail on Sunday
-- Anne Enright New York Times Book Review
Black and brilliant stuff . . . Very clever and extremely funny. The Times

Edward St Aubyn was born in London in 1960. His superbly acclaimed Patrick Melrose novels are Never Mind, Bad News, Some Hope, Mother's Milk (shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2006) and At Last. He is also the author of the novels A Clue to the Exit and On the Edge.

'Hilarious, elegant and written with effortless insight' Guardian Each of the judges of the Elysian Prize for literature has a reason for accepting the job: the bored politician, the media personality, the Oxbridge academic and the civil servant with literary ambitions of her own. Meanwhile, a host of authors are desperate for Elysian glory, including serial heart-breaker Katherine Burns, lovelorn existentialist Sam Black, and Sonny, convinced that his magnum opus, The Mulberry Elephant , will take the literary world by storm. Thought-provoking and endlessly entertaining, Lost for Words cuts to the quick of some of the deepest questions about the place of art in our celebrity-obsessed culture, wondering how we can ever hope to recognize real talent when everyone has an agenda. 'A long-overdue, laugh-out-loud satire on the whole business of literary prizes' Evening Standard 'Shot through with moments of profundity and grace' Irish Times 'Fun, black and brilliant stuff' The Times

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