The Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year is a British Literary award administered by the Society of Authors and sponsored by the Sunday Times newspaper. According to the Sunday Times "the prize has proved an unfailingly reliable guide to youthful literary endeavour, spotting early a bevy of talented writers who have gone on to become significant literary figures". (Youth in this case is interpreted as meaning under the age of thirty-five.)
The winner of the 2007 award was Naomi Alderman who received the good news together with a cheque for £5,000 at a special lunch held at the Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival on Sunday, 25th March 2007.
Past Winners
Note that no award was made in the years 2002, 2005 and 2006.
- 1991 - Helen Simpson, Four Bare Legs in a Bed
- 1992 - Caryl Phillips, Cambridge
- 1993 - Simon Armitage, Xanadu and Kid
- 1994 - William Dalrymple, City of Djinns
- 1995 - Andrew Cowan, Pig
- 1996 - Katherine Pierpoint, Truffle Beds
- 1997 - Francis Spufford, I May Be Some Time
- 1998 - Patrick French, Liberty or Death
- 1999 - Paul Farley, The Boy from the Chemist is Here to See You
- 2000 - Sarah Waters, Affinity
- 2001 - Zadie Smith, White Teeth
- 2003 - William Fiennes, The Snow Geese
- 2004 - Robert Macfarlane, Mountains of the Mind
- 2007 - Naomi Alderman, Disobedience
REFERENCES
http://www.societyofauthors.net/soa/page_id_sub.php4?pid=47&par_nm=Prizes%2C+grants+and+awards&parentid=7
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article1480867.ece