Jacqueline Crooks

Jacqueline Crooks is a British writer whose debut novel, Fire Rush, was shortlisted for the 2023 Women's Prize for Fiction. She was described as one of the "10 best new novelists for 2023" by The Observer.^[1]

Early life

Crooks was born in Jamaica and raised in Southall, west London.^[1] She graduated from the University of Roehampton with a degree in Social Policy and Goldsmiths, University of London with a Master of Arts (MA) in Creative and Life Writing.^[2]

Writing career

Crooks wrote a short story collection titled The Ice Migration which was longlisted for the 2019 Orwell Prize for Political Fiction.^[1][3] One of her short stories was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award in 2019.^[1]

Her debut novel, Fire Rush, took 16 years to write and is based on her diary entries.^[1][4]

She was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2024.^[5]

Awards

Year	Title	Award	Category	Result	Ref.
2019	"Silver Fish in the Midnight Sea"	BBC National Short Story Award	—	Shortlisted	[6]
	The Ice Migration	Orwell Prize	Political Fiction	Longlisted	[3]
2023	Fire Rush	Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize	—	Shortlisted	[7][8]
		Women's Prize for Fiction	—	Shortlisted	[9]
2024		Authors' Club Best First Novel Award	—	Shortlisted	[10]
		Diverse Book Awards	Adult	Longlisted	[11][12]
		Jhalak Prize	—	Shortlisted	[13]
		Paul Torday Memorial Prize	—	Won	[14]
		McKitterick Prize	—	Shortlisted	[15]

Bibliography

• Crooks, Jacqueline (2018). The Ice Migration. Peepal Tree Press. ISBN 9781845233587.
• Crooks, Jacqueline (2023). Fire Rush. Penguin. ISBN 9780593300534.