The shortlist for the most prestigious historical fiction award is here! So I took some time to look at the five offerings. I’m less surprised that none of them interest me than appalled at the lack of effort some of the publishers put into the most basic marketing tactics. It may be that some of these just don’t appeal to us masses, but decent metadata and a little attention might result in a couple more sales for the writers.
The Pretender by Jo Harkin (Knopf, April 2025), 496 pages. In 1483, a young boy learns he is the last Plantagenet and heir to the throne. Good blurb. Good use of Amazon page generally. Extensive editorial reviews. The one stars mostly complain about archaic language style and too many pages detailing the 13-year-old boy’s raging sex drive, but sales are going well: 4.1 stars w/939 reviews. Third-person present tense.
The Matchbox Girl by Alice Jolly (Bloomsbury, January 2026), 416 pages. From the official blurb on the page, you’ll have no idea what this book is about. “From the multi-award-winning author - a beautiful, stunningly ambitious novel telling the story of a young girl’s battle for survival and search for the truth in occupied Vienna.” Only by scanning the (2) reviews did I piece together something to do with early research into autism and resulting acts of euthanasia. A more enlightening blurb might draw more readers. Per Google, this is set in 1938. 4.2 stars w/24 ratings, 2 written reviews (one 5-star, one 1-star, extensive critique). No Editorial Reviews. First-person present tense.
Benbecula by Graeme Macrae Burnet (Biblioasis, November 2025), 174 pages. 1857: murder, mystery, madness. Filed as Historical Thriller. Shortlisted for the 2026 Walter Scott Prize, longlisted for the 2025 Highland Book Prize, A Globe 100 Best Book of 2025. Good blurb. No use of Amazon’s A+ options. A lengthy list of editorial reviews full of all the expected praise for a prize-winning book. … and yet, 3.9 stars w/28 ratings. No written reviews. First-person past tense.
Once the Deed is Done by Rachel Seiffert (Virago, March 2025), 464 pages. 1945 post-WWII refugee camp. Secrets. Sufficient blurb, but no A+ material, no Amazon categories listed. (I didn’t know that was possible.) By a prior Booker Prize-shortlisted author. 4.1 stars w/73 rankings, only one written review. NO Preview!?!
EDIT: Thank you Sarah Johnson at Reading the Past for pointing out that Once the Deed is Done has no category or preview because it does not have a US edition. On Amazon UK it is listed as Jewish Fiction, War Story Fiction, and Literary Fiction. There it also has a sample which shows the text is third-person past tense.
Seascraper by Benjamin Wood (Scribner, November 2025), 176 pages. Long-listed for the Booker Prize 2025. Young man working as a shanker (gathering and selling shrimp) in Northern England, aspiring guitarist, meets Hollywood producer. Good blurb, good use of A+ material, but I couldn’t tell what year(s) this story is set in. Per Google: 1962. 4.2 stars w/1,743 reviews. Third-person present tense.
The winner will be announced on June 12th.
Broad observations:
Of the five:
· Three are in present tense (but one has no preview, so who knows?)
· Two are in first person (but one has no preview, so who knows?)
· Two are placed during or immediately after WWII (still)
· Two are super short. One of those is doing very well. The other book with significant sales is 496 pages (Whew! Short is a trend I’d rather not see. Heh.)
Shockingly, most of these publishers are neglecting Amazon’s book page opportunities, and one has no category at all. This is not doing their writers any service. Most things in writing and publishing are hard. Using the Amazon page and metadata is both critical and easy.
I would imagine these authors are invested in the trad system. I mean, they’ve received the accolades. But their publishers are not invested enough in their sales to do the basic work on their Amazon pages. And they seem to be doing little to nothing to drum up true reader reviews. I suppose working the awards cycle is the priority, but don’t they want to stay in business?
It’s interesting that the two books actually selling both have helpful blurbs and are making use of the A+ material.
I’d be interested to know whether any of these stories appeal to you. Have you heard of them? Read them? If you are traditionally published, do you have access to your Amazon page and metadata? Is your publisher exploiting it to the fullest?
You can see my focus here on things publishing-related as I herd ten thousand details toward the gate for Farewell, O Syria: book cover (coming soon!), website revamp, front and back matter… Just now, it seems endless.
I want to get this done so I can dig into the next story. I’ve been constructing it, but had to put it aside a few times for more urgent matters.
We have a closing next week on our house sale. (Bitter sweet. What a gift that place was for us!) We made a marathon journey last weekend to look at houses. Nearly made offers on two, but couldn’t quite get there. We’re looking for our forever home and want to be excited about whatever we choose. Not, “that’ll do”. So far, the compromises are too big a stretch. We’re trying to balance being choosy with just getting on with it. I’m afraid none will compare to the one we are leaving behind. We’ll see.
I hope you are all well. Do you have any adventures you’d like to share? I’m getting a little antsy out here in the sandy flatlands.
Lausanne
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