my experience of being on a reading panel for a major book prize

Whilst I was on maternity leave, I had the opportunity to do some early reading for a major book prize. It was a nice gentle way to start my brain working again, and great to be easing my way back into a literary focus.

I thought I’d share about my experience here; I’ve always been intrigued about how the reading and judging process works, so it was really interesting to get a glimpse behind the scenes.

How did the selection process work?

Via application form. Potential readers were asked about our literary background and experience, and had to submit sample reviews for the last three books we’d read.

Was it paid?

I wish! We did get sent free e-books though. Some would say receiving free books is as good as being paid; I would agree, but sadly my mortgage provider would not.

What was the reading schedule like?

The main reason that I was happy to apply for this was that the schedule was really flexible. You could read anywhere between one and ten books, and just had to ask for another one to be sent when submitting your previous review. Maternity leave was quite unpredictable, with plenty of reading time when trapped under a snoozing baby one week followed by having a baby who completely refuses to nap the next week, so I was relieved not to have to commit to a set number of books in advance.

The slow pace also meant that I didn’t need to rush through any of the books, and the breathing space between them allowed me to reflect thoroughly on each one before submitting my thoughts on it.

How were the books evaluated?

I’ve always wondered about how this works for literary awards and prizes, because the idea of a ‘good book’ is so personal and subjective. I’m part of two informal reading groups, and I’m always surprised by the range of opinions on books; one person will have appreciated a story’s attention to close details while another found the pace too slow. One person might have found the plot too coincidental to be believable, whilst another was happy to accept that unlikely coincidences happen in fiction. One person’s beautiful and vivid prose might have felt heavy-handed and convoluted to another reader.

It's something I always try to keep in mind when editing someone else’s writing: just because I don’t love something doesn’t mean a reader won’t.

We were given some guidance on literary criticism, then had to submit scores and comments for each book in a range of areas, including enjoyment, structure and literary merit. It was key to be objective, and there was space to share specific examples from each book to justify our scores and comments.

Each book was read by three people, so the judges had a good amount of information to pull their longlist from.
 
What was the reading experience like?

Brilliant! I really loved having an excuse to read slowly and thoughtfully, and enjoyed considered each book’s objective merits.

One of the books I read had a slow start, and in all honesty I probably would have abandoned it if I’d just been reading for pleasure. I’m so glad I kept going though: it turned out to be one of the most interesting books I’d read in a long time, with some really vivid scenes which I’m still thinking about. The writing was mixed, with the odd clumsy sentences suddenly followed by a moment of brilliant and eloquent insight; I’m not sure I’ve read many books with quite such a discrepancy in writing skill.

Another book I read was a real struggle. The narrative was about 80–90% dialogue; every single character spoke in obtuse and verbose paragraphs, and the initial premise wasn’t resolved. This was one time where I was really relieved that two other readers would either be confirming or disputing my reading of it, in case it just hadn’t landed with me for some reason. I was very conscious that making the longlist for these prizes can be career-changing for authors, so I definitely wanted to be sure that all the feedback I submitted was as considered and objective as I could possibly make it.
 
I’m really glad to have taken part – it was a brilliant experience, and so nice to feel like I was doing something literary despite spending nearly every waking moment trying to keep a baby alive. I’m looking forward to seeing which titles make it on to the longlist, and to repeating the experience next year.

Got any questions or comments about my post? I’d love to hear from you; you can reply in a comment, or my inbox is always open. And if you’re interested in my availability for editing or book coaching, please drop me an email to enquire: [email protected].