Amazon Announces Breakthrough Novel Finalists [1]
Amazon has revealed the three finalists for its novel publication prize [3], and now the company is asking the public to weigh in. Until June 1, readers can read excerpts of manuscripts by Gregory Hill [4]of Denver, Lucian Morgan [5] of Phoenix, and Phyllis Smith [6] of New York City, as well as reviews [7] by a panel of industry professionals, and vote for their favorite title on the contest website [7].
Hill is shortlisted for East of Denver, the story of an elderly father and his son who plan a bank robbery to avoid losing their family farm. Morgan's Dog Christ centers on a wheelchair-bound man and the international cast of characters who come through his home, and Smith's I Am Livia bases its cunning protagonist on a figure from history, the wife of Julius Caesar's adopted heir.
The Breakthrough Novel winner receives an advance of fifteen thousand dollars as part of a publishing contract from Penguin. Amazon will announce the winner in Seattle on June 13.