INDUSTRY NEWS
Maria Semple has won the 2013 Melissa Nathan Award for Fiction About Life and Love for her novel Where'd You Go, Bernadette. Semple said: "Thank you to the judges, especially Andrew Saffron, who founded this award to honour his wife. As Melissa Nathan knew only too well, it's hard work making comedy look easy. I'm so grateful that Where'd You Go, Bernadette has been acknowledged for its heart and humour." Because of the loss of its sponsor, an award ceremony was not held this year. The award honours best-selling chick lit author Melissa Nathan, who died of cancer in 2006.
The shortlist for the Melissa Nathan Award for Fiction About Life and Love 2103 has been announced. They are: Charlotte Street by Danny Wallace; You Had Me at Hello by Mhairi McFarlane; Summer Daydreams by Carole Matthews; Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell, Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple and The Wedding Diaries by Sam Binnie. The winner will be announced in June, with judges including Jo Brand, Sophie Kinsella, Kathy Lette and Morwenna Banks. The award honours best-selling chick lit author Melissa Nathan, who died of cancer in 2006.
Jade Craddock chats with Melissa's husband and judge, Andrew Saffron, about the awards held in her honour.
1. Tell us a bit about the background to the Melissa Nathan Award?
As you know, Melissa was a best-selling writer of comedy romance books. For five years she was writing while undergoing extensive treatment for breast cancer. In the end, we were told that Melissa only had a few weeks left to live. It was during this time that we thought about having an award in her name. I took the idea to Melissa's amazing agent (Maggie Phillips at Ed Victor Ltd) and her fantastic editor (Kate Elton). They loved the idea and helped me to get the award off the ground. We decided to hold the awards ceremony each year as close as we could to Melissa's birthday so that it felt like a party. I still can't think of a better way to remember Melissa than to have fun each year with 200 people who are all thinking about her.
2. What does the award mean to you?
At first, the award was primarily an opportunity for me to publicly remember Melissa and to somehow ensure that she was always with us. As the years have gone by, the importance of recognising these fantastic, but largely unheralded, books are given the acclaim they deserve.
3. This year the award has changed from The Melissa Nathan award for Comedy Romance to The Melissa Nathan Award for Fiction about Life and Love, why the change?
We did this because we wanted to change the scope of the award to reflect the changes we were seeing in this genre: lots of funny, incredibly insightful books about life and love in all its shapes and sizes are being written. But probably, very few of them would be described as 'romance.' These books were just too good to miss out on.
4. How will the novels now be judged?
Each book that's entered is read by four different readers. Each reader rates the book against a number of criteria. The readers come from the length and breadth of the UK. From these scores a shortlist of about six books is drawn. Each of these shortlisted books are read by the judges. Then the judges get together in about May to talk about the books and agree the winner.
5. What changes have you seen in writing of this kind across the seven years that the award has been running?
To me, there's no doubt that the genre has evolved. We seem to have moved away from the ditzy Bridget Jones-type characters and towards characters that we all recognise: human beings, striding through life, taking knocks and blows along the way but trying to recognise the joy when we find it.
6. Why do you think writing of this kind continues to be so successful?
Melissa preferred to use the words "Comedy Romance" in that order (rather than Romantic Comedy) because she thought that the comedy is more important than the romance - if you had laughter in your life then you were pretty much sorted; romance is just a fantastic bonus. These books are such a fantastic way to relax, smile, laugh, cry and pretty much forget the washing up, the laundry pile, the idiot boss and all the other stuff that gets in the way of making life easy and happy.
7. Have you been surprised by the huge names that the award has pulled in across the years?
Not really. Don't we all want to be recognised for our achievements? No matter how successful we are, it always feels good to hear someone say "You did well"? Don't we all watch the Oscars thinking "how come they get to be publicly recognised like this when there's no even vague equivalent for people doing my job?"
8. Once again you have an esteemed panel of judges this year, how do you find the judging process?
I LOVE it. Mostly because I get to hang out with some of the most fantastic, clever, witty, warm, lovely people I've ever met. They've gone from people that I'd seen on the telly to friends who have supported me personally through the hardest parts of the last seven years.
9. Are you a tough critic?
Yep. I'm incredibly judgmental! Something I know I have to work on!
10. How would you like the Melissa Nathan Award for Fiction about Life and Love to be defined?
As the award that recognises people who write about us. Our daily struggles and delights. The award that recognises books that help us relax, reflect and run-away from real life ... just for a few moments each day.