A novel by Professor Kei Miller has been nominated for prestigious literary prizes around the world.

Professor Kei Miller nominated for prestigious literary prizes around the world

A novel by University of Exeter Professor in Creative Writing, Kei Miller, has been nominated for prestigious literary prizes around the world.

Augustown was shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize and the Green Carnation Prize. It won the OCM Bocas Prize for Caribbean Literature earlier this month.

The novel is set in 1982 in Jamaica. It tells the story of a small community and how a single day in history – when a preacher said he was going to fly – had a huge impact of everyone’s lives. The town is similar to the area Professor Miller grew up in.

Augustown will be published in the USA this month and was published in the UK and Caribbean last July.

Professor Miller said: “I’m very shocked and honoured by the reaction to Augustown. It is wonderful to be recognised by so many prestigious organisations. I’m thrilled to be shortlisted for their prizes.”

The RSL Ondaatje Prize is awarded annually to a book of the highest literary merit – fiction, non-fiction or poetry – which best evokes the spirit of a place. The Green Carnation Prize seeks to champion the best writing by an LGBTQ author in the UK. The winner will be revealed at a ceremony later this month.

Professor Miller, who teaches on our MA Creating Writing programme was born in Jamaica in 1978. He is an essayist, poet and novelist. In 2014, he won the Forward Prize for Poetry for his collection, The Cartographer Tries To Map a Way To Zion, which was also shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. He is the author of several collections of poetry, a book of short stories and two novels. His work has also been nominated for the Commonwealth Writers First Book Prize and the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize.

Date: 17 May 2017