Inaugurated in 2009, the New Angle Prize for Literature is a £3,000 biennial award for a recently published book of literary merit set in, associated with, or influenced by the region of East Anglia. In this context, East Anglia is defined as a region encompassing North Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and the Fens.

In addition, the University of Suffolk Creative Suffolk Author Award celebrates outstanding writing which contributes to Suffolk’s creative output. This prize aims to showcase the strength of diverse literary voices in the county, rewarding the work of a writer who has made an important contribution to Suffolk’s literary landscape.


New Angle Prize 2025 

  • Winner:
    Ian Collins – Blythe Spirit
    A moving, affectionate biography of one of the greatest writers of the English countryside.
  • Runner Up:
    Hilary Taylor -Sea Defences
    A visceral depiction of erosion, which echoes the grief the book’s characters are struggling to process.

Creative Suffolk Author Award 2025

  • Winner:
    Erica James – An Ideal Husband
    A compelling exploration of family dynamics and personal resilience, infused with vivid descriptions of Suffolk’s landscapes and villages.

Creative Suffolk Author Awards Shortlist

Latch – Rebecca Goss

We all agreed that the evocative, haunting, images created by the words stayed with us long after we’d closed the cover. The depictions of Suffolk especially resonated, and we noted the power of this slim volume, the power of poetry. Overall, it stands as a compelling contribution to contemporary British poetry, worthy of recognition for its emotional depth and technical finesse.

The Scapegoat – Lucy Hughes-Hallett

The author has managed to make an incredible amount of research both entertaining and accessible in this hugely readable biography of a profoundly influential figure in his age who has largely been forgotten.

An Ideal Husband – Erica James

From a prolific author with a devoted following. An Ideal Husband is a compelling exploration of family dynamics and personal resilience. James infuses the novel with vivid descriptions of Suffolk’s landscapes and villages, capturing the essence of the region’s charm and tranquillity. This narrative was an effortless and hugely enjoyable read, the characters coming to life and remaining with us months after meeting them.

Blythe Spirit – Ian Collins

So much love on the page, this biography is a fitting tribute to an important Suffolk figure, told with careful research and a keen eye for Suffolk landscapes, Suffolk culture and for the turbulent, world-changing history of the past hundred years.

Heads Will Roll – Josh Winning

This slasher horror book had a powerful impact on all three judges, generating a strong discussion and even invading their sleep! This gripping exploration of contemporary issues through the lens of horror is both unsettling and thought-provoking, making it a standout read that lingers long after the final page.

Sea Defences – Hilary Taylor

Evocative and powerful, the handling of grief was carefully done in a novel that captured our imaginations. The novel had a profound sense of place, with unyielding and wild East Anglian coast providing a fitting backdrop to this tense and gripping novel.

2025 New Angle Prize Shortlist

Looking For Lucie -Amanda Addison (Neem Tree Press)

“We loved the authorial voice, it was amusing, thoughtful and educational. It conveyed a sense of other within a place that you are from. We felt it was the right balance of humour and light touch for an important story that feels relevant and contemporary for any but particularly a young adult readership”

Where Are The Fellows Who Cut The Hay? – Robert Ashton (Unbound)

“The judges revelled in the way the book takes the traditions of the past and brings them into the modern day. Whether you had read the original or not this is a deeply personal revisitation of rural social history and a renaissance in local trades, which through the form of memoir gives an optimistic view of the evolution and regeneration of rural and country life”

In All Weathers – Matt Gaw
(Elliot and Thompson)

“The book awoke the readers senses. Matt manages to paint clear pictures of the landscape, which allows you to visualise exactly where he is at times and immerse yourself in the elemental forces he conjures. This is a very clever idea to take something we all experience but reveal something we are missing and reconnect us with the physicality of weather”

Blythe Spirit – Ian Collins
(John Murray)

“Ian Collins moved the judges with the obvious affection that he has for Ronald Blythe. It is a work that is rich, insightful in its research, which gives a comprehensive but totally fascinating and amusing account of his life and the social history of the region he loved”

The Low Road – Katharine Quarmby (Unbound)

“The setting of the Waveney Valley hooked the reader with a compelling story that was based in fact. It was an eye-opening experience drawing on grim events, which evoked the time and period the story took place, particularly through its use of language. It had a precarious quality that evoked a dark and suffering aspect of history as Hannah struggles to make her way in the world”

Sea Defences – Hilary Taylor
(Eye Books)

“Netflix should be the rights immediately! We felt there was a visceral depiction of erosion, which echoed the grief the characters were struggling to process. It had a strong evocation of landscape and the East Anglian coast and how this can mirror our lives. The characters felt natural and authentic. Particularly Fossil Boy (Adam) and his fascination with fossils created a believable and empathetic portrayal of someone who could otherwise have been sinister”

2025 CSAA Judges: Ruth Dugdall, Patience Pounds and Sue Williamson MBE

2025 NAP Judges: Jake Smith, Juliet Blaxland and Lesley Dolphin