The Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize announced its shortlist of six titles in contention for this year’s award. Named in honour of PG Wodehouse, the award is the UK’s oldest prize for comic fiction.
Indian author Aravind Jayan is shortlisted for his debut novel, Teen Couple Have Fun Outdoors, in which a clip of the eponymous protagonists engaging in “sex-adjacent” activities goes viral. The novel is “set in a refreshingly specific modern Indian context and relayed in a startlingly simple, pithy and hilarious voice,” said judge and comedian Sindhu Vee.
Another debut novel on the list is Bob Mortimer’s The Satsuma Complex. It follows a man’s attempt to track down a girl he once went on a date with who suddenly disappeared. James Hannaham is shortlisted for Didn’t Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta, about a transgender woman who re-enters life on the outside after more than 20 years of incarceration. Mother Hens by Sophie McCartney, is a black comedy that takes readers on a hen do in Ibiza. Darling by India Knight is a contemporary retelling of Nancy Mitford’s The Pursuit of Love. In Fergus Craig’s Murder at Crime Manor, Detective Roger LeCarre has to solve a murder which is well and fine except that the murder weapon was discovered in the detective’s hand, and the body was at his feet.
The jury of this year’s prize comprises Peter Florence, festival producer and co-director of The European Festivals Forest; Pippa Evans, comedian; David Campbell, publisher; Sindhu Vee, comedian; James Naughtie, broadcaster and author; and Justin Albert, vice president of Hay Festival and director of National Trust Wales. Chair of the judges, Peter Florence, said, “Reading this shortlist is a joy. The bubbling up of laughter, the delight at the grace of good writing, and the sheer pleasure of responding to the world with humour has never seemed so vital.”
The winner of this year’s Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize will be announced at a reception in November in London. The winner will be awarded a jeroboam of Bollinger Special Cuvée, a case of Bollinger La Grande Année, the complete set of the Everyman’s Library P.G. Wodehouse collection and – as is tradition – a pig will be named after their winning book.
