Nancy Campbell wins the Ackerley Prize 2023 

for Thunderstone

 

– We are delighted to announce that Nancy Campbell has won the Ackerley Prize 2023 for Thunderstone: A true story of losing one home and discovering another (Elliott & Thompson). 

– The other two shortlisted books were Edward Chisholm’s A Waiter in Paris (Monoray) and Thea Lenarduzzi’s Dandelions (Fitzcarraldo Editions)

– The Ackerley Prize is the UK’s only literary prize dedicated to memoir and autobiography
 

The winner of the prize, now in its 41st year, was announced at a special event featuring the shortlisted authors in conversation with the Chair of the judges, Peter Parker, at the London Review Bookshop on Thursday 28 September.

 

The PEN Ackerley Prize was established 41 years ago in memory of Joe Randolph Ackerley (1896–1967), the author and long-time literary editor of The Listener magazine. The prize is awarded annually to a literary autobiography of outstanding merit, written by an author of British nationality, and published in the UK in the previous year.

The Ackerley Prize is judged by biographer and historian Peter Parker (Chair), writer and editor Michael Caines, and writer and critic Claire Harman. The winner receives a cheque for £3,000. 

 

Nancy Campbell, winner of the Ackerley Prize 2023, said:

 

Thunderstone is a book I never expected to write, a private journal that has become the most public document. It's a book about a time I would never have dared to imagine living through. It is very humbling and even a little heartbreaking to receive such a prestigious accolade for a memoir describing days when, as carer for someone with aphasia, I grew ambivalent about the sound of my voice, questioned the power of words, and went through a deep crisis in my role as a writer. Thunderstone was always going to be a wild experiment, and I'm extremely grateful to my publishers, Elliott & Thompson, for daring to embark on this joyride.

 

To write a life is as much a collaborative exercise as living. Many writers and other friends appear in this book, and with great generosity allowed me to share their stories. Above all, my former partner Anna Zvegintzov , whose immense dignity in the toughest circumstances has taught me so much, as we emerge from pandemic losses into reconciliation with a new order.

For Thunderstone to be recognised by the judges of this year's Ackerley Prize means the world. I am still living in the caravan described in these pages, and now buckling down for a third winter in the woods. The prize money will make a significant contribution to my quality of life. For a start, I can invest in some driving lessons.
 

Peter Parker, Chair of the Judges, said:
 

The three books on this year’s very strong shortlist all share the virtues of J.R. Ackerley’s own autobiographical writings: they are skilfully constructed, absolutely candid and above all beautifully  written. We hope that by shortlisting them we will encourage people to buy and read all three books, but the winner of this year’s Ackerley Prize is Nancy Campbell’s Thunderstone. 

 

Nancy Campbell calls Thunderstone ‘a true story of losing one home and discovering another’. Largely written in the form of a diary, it describes how, in the wake of breaking up with her partner, she moves into a caravan parked beside a canal and a railway line on the fringes of Oxford. Here she finds a new community of people who, by accident or choice,  are living on the margins, and she observes them with a sharp but affectionate awareness of human foibles and frailty. Campbell writes fearlessly about what it means to love and lose both people and things, and how one survives this. Written with wit, grace, and a poet’s eye for detail, this is a wonderful book about the power of hope, and the consolations of small accomplishments and the natural world. 

 

The Ackerley Prize was first awarded in 1982. It was established in memory of Joe Randolph Ackerley, author of the classic autobiography My Father and Myself  and long-time editor of The Listener,  by his sister Nancy West. Ackerley’s posthumous royalties continue to provide capital for the prize. The winner receives a cheque for £3,000. Last year’s winner was Frances Stonor Saunders for The Suitcase (Jonathan Cape). Previous winners have included Claire Wilcox, Alison Light, Yrsa Daley-Ward, Richard Beard, Amy Liptrot, Alice Jolly, Sonali Deraniyagala, Duncan Fallowell, Miranda Seymour, Michael Frayn, Lorna Sage, Alan Bennett, Blake Morrison, Germaine Greer and John Osborne. A full list of past winners and further details about Ackerley’s life and work can be found at www.jrackerley.com.