The Arnold Bennett Literary Prize has announced the short list for its inaugural year, and we’re proud to announce that A Ray of Light is one of the ten books on the list. The winner will be announced in September.

This new prize is administered by the Arnold Bennett Society in partnership with the Sentinel newspaper. This is its first year, and it will be awarded every year from now on.

A Ray of Light tells the story of Lidice, a Czech village that was completely destroyed in retaliation for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in 1942. North Staffordshire’s miners raised the equivalent of over £1million to rebuild the village.