The Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award 2021 has been awarded to debut author Clare Whitfield for her psychological thriller People of Abandoned Character, a take on the Jack the Ripper story published by Head of Zeus. It follows the perspective of the newly married Susannah, who begins to wonder whether her abusive and volatile husband might be responsible for the Whitechapel Murders. 

The winner will receive £2,000 and a beautiful, handmade, engraved glass bell.

The Glass Bell Award was established in 2017 by independent bookstore Goldsboro Books and rewards storytelling in all genres – from romance, thrillers and ghost stories, to historical, speculative and literary fiction. It is awarded annually to “a compelling novel with brilliant characterization and a distinct voice that is confidently written and assuredly realized.”

Two works of genre interest were on the six-book shortlist, The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant and The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton.