A Bath Spa University Graduate has been named as the winner of the 2013 Costa First Novel Book Award for The Shock of the Fall.
Nathan Filer graduated from Bath Spa’s MA Creative Writing course in 2010 and is now a part-time lecturer at the University. The Shock of the Fall is his first novel which was published in May 2013.
The Shock of the Fall is an extraordinary portrait of one man’s descent into mental illness. It is a brave and ground-breaking novel from one of the most exciting new voices in fiction.
The Creative Writing course at Bath Spa has produced many successful graduates during its 20 year history. Course tutors are themselves respected writers and their links with the publishing industry are invaluable to graduates.
Last year Andrew Miller, a former Lecturer in Creative Writing at Bath Spa won both the 2012 Costa Book Best Novel Award and the overall Costa Book of the Year Award for his novel Pure.
Commenting on Nathan’s fantastic achievement, Dean of the School of Humanities and Cultural Industries, Professor Steve May said: “Nathan Filer represents the kind of graduate Bath Spa Creative Writing is now producing – not just promising, but achieving at the highest level of artistic endeavour. It’s great also that Nathan is now working with our undergraduates to help them to achieve their aims.”
The Costa Book Awards is the only major UK book prize that is open solely to authors resident in the UK and Ireland and also, uniquely, recognises the most enjoyable books across five categories – First Novel, Novel, Biography, Poetry and Children’s Book – published in the last year.
This year’s Costa Book Awards attracted 617 entries – the highest number of entries ever received in one year.
Judges on this year’s panels (three per category) included broadcaster and journalist Paul Ross; broadcaster and author Clemency Burton-Hill; poet and journalist Olivia Cole; author and former Channel 4 News culture editor, Matthew Cain, author, columnist and scriptwriter Emma Kennedy and writers, John Burnside, Anne de Courcy and Fanny Blake as well as author and Bath Spa University Professor of Fiction, Gerard Woodward.
