Irish writer Niamh Connolly has been awarded The Women’s Prize Trust Discoveries Prize 2024 for her novel-in-progress Game Theory, which was chosen from among almost 3,000 entries.
The on-again, off-again love story deals with bereavement, friendship, financial disparity, miscommunication and loneliness. Connolly’s writing has appeared in The Gloss and Sunday Independent’s Life magazine. She is currently completing an MA in Prose Fiction at the University of East Anglia.
As the winner of the Discoveries prize for an unpublished novel-in-progress by a woman writer, Connolly receives an offer of representation by Curtis Brown and a cash prize of £5,000. In July, she will also join Curtis Brown Creative’s two-week Discoveries Writing Development course, alongside the 15 other writers longlisted for Discoveries 2024. This will be tutored by author and former Women’s Prize shortlisted writer, Charlotte Mendelson.
Connolly said: “I’m so happy. This is just the best news, and the best boost of confidence that any writer could hope for. It’s an absolute honour to have my writing recognised by the Women’s Prize Trust and the Discoveries team. I’m so grateful to the judges, the organisers and the readers behind the scenes, for championing my novel – it means so much to me – thank you.”
All six writers on this year’s Discoveries shortlist will receive a one-to-one mentoring session with a Curtis Brown agent and a free place on the six-week online writing course of their choice with Curtis Brown Creative (worth £220). The shortlisted writers will also take part in a studio session on writing and recording for audio with Audible.
Zeynep Kazmaz has also been announced as the Women’s Prize Trust Discoveries Scholar. Her novel, Viscid Residue, explores a relationship between two people from fundamentally different backgrounds, as a woman struggles to find home and herself as an immigrant in London. Kazmaz grew up in Istanbul, and now runs a printing company. She wins a scholarship place on a three-month Writing Your Novel course with Curtis Brown Creative.
