A new writing prize has been launched aiming to counteract the prevalent trend for violence against women in thrillers and crime novels.
Founded by screenwriter and author of educational material on violence Bridget Lawless, the Staunch Book Prize is for novels in the thriller genre in which no woman gets beaten, stalked, sexually exploited, raped or murdered. Bridget set up a prize that refuses to reward violence against women in fiction out of frustration with the apparently limitless depiction of violence towards women in contemporary books, film and television.
Writing Magazine columnist, literary agent Piers Blofeld, is one of the judges.