Launched in 2017, the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award is awarded annually to an outstanding work of contemporary fiction, rewarding quality storytelling in any genre. Judged by Goldsboro booksellers, the annual award celebrates "compelling storytelling with brilliant characterisation and a distinct voice that is confidently written and assuredly realised in all genres". The winner will be announced on 26th September, at Goldsboro’s 25th anniversary party, and will receive £2,000 and a handmade, engraved glass bell.

Other authors longlisted include Zadie Smith, Alice Winn, Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Rebecca F Kuang , Lisa Jewell, Costanza Casati, Yomi Adegoke, Emilia Hart, Isabelle Schuler, David Fennell, Hannah Kaner, Laura Shepherd Robinson  and Gareth Rubin.

David Headley, Goldsboro Books co-founder, managing director and founder of the Glass Bell, commented: "This is the longest list we have chosen in the eight years since we launched this prize. Reading is one of the greatest comforts available to us in these uncertain times – and each of these stories constructs very different but equally immersive worlds for readers to inhabit. This longlist highlights fourteen of the best works of fiction around today! I’m looking forward to our judging discussions – there’s so much to be said about each of these remarkable novels, and I feel that this year will be particularly difficult choosing a winner because we couldn’t cut the longlist to our normal twelve, so passionate were the team about each book."