The Somerset Awards: Understanding Literary Fiction

Ah yes, literary fiction, often thought of as the highest form of writing. If only people could define exactly what it means. 

Here are a few of Somerset Maugham’s work that typify literary fiction:

• Of Human Bondage
• The Razor’s Edge
• The Moon and Sixpence 
• And far too many to list here.

Let’s start with some writing tips from Somerset Maugham himself. 

• There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.
• Every production of an artist should be the expression of an adventure of his soul.
• I always find it more difficult to say the things I mean than the things I don’t.
• The fact that a great many people believe something is no guarantee of its truth.
• To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.
• Impropriety is the soul of wit.
• When I read a book I seem to read it with my eyes only, but now and then I come across a passage, perhaps only a phrase, which has a meaning for me, and it becomes part of me.
• We do not write because we want to; we write because we have to.
• I write only when inspiration strikes. Fortunately it strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.
• If you can tell stories, create characters, devise incidents, and have sincerity and passion, it doesn’t matter a damn how you write.
• Submit here to Chanticleer’s Somerset Book Awards before the end of November!

We may have made one of those up…

What a start! We still need to figure out this Literary Fiction business though. Before we dive into that, if you want to read more about Somerset Maugham, consider looking out our previous spotlight here where we discuss him at length! 

To read more about the time he wrote in, click here.

So What is Literary Fiction?

The easiest way to attempt to answer this question is to start with what Literary Fiction is being defined in opposition to. Literary Fiction is not Genre Fiction. 

So what’s Genre Fiction?

Genre Fiction is written for people to enjoy it generally. It often follows a formula that uses conventional storytelling. The stories are meant to entertain, are plot driven, and they usually have a happy ending. As a result, there’s almost never a question of how to market genre fiction, making it easier to sell.

So, if we take the opposite of all those and apply them to literary fiction, what do we get? 

• It doesn’t follow a formula
• Uses unconventional storytelling
• Examines what it means to be human
• It can be difficult to read
• Character focused (not plot)
• Endings vary or can even be uncertain

That’s a tough sell! Of course, not all of these elements need to apply 

Many literary fiction books are the kinds that stay with us for years after we read them. Chances are the longtime favorite that changed your life is a literary fiction book, or at least possesses some elements of it. 

Here’s some contemporary Literary Fiction you may have heard of:

• Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
• The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki
• Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
• A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
• Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
• Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche 

The NY Book Editors has this to say about Literary Fiction: 

The term “literary fiction” is controversial and for good reason. As more “literary” writers venture into genre fiction, the lines of distinction have blurred. Sometimes, it’s not always clear. Perhaps, it is genre fiction that’s just pushing its own boundaries.

It’s clear that Literary Fiction is a complex genre, worthy of being written and read. We’re happy to say that we’ve done our fair share here at Chanticleer! Check it out below!

HARD CIDER
By Barbara Stark-Nemon
Grand Prize Winner in Somerset Awards

Abbie Rose Stone is a woman determined to follow her newly discovered dream of producing her own craft hard apple cider while navigating the ups and downs of family life with her grown sons and husband.

Abbie Rose knows how to deal with adversity, and dives headfirst into this new chapter of her life with energy and passion. She describes her early adulthood years of infertility struggles and the hardscrabble way she built her young family through invasive medical procedures, a surrogate attempt, and adoption barriers.

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MARTHA
By Maggie St. Claire
First Place Winner in Somerset Awards

In the unique and compelling voice of an aging woman teetering on the edge of financial ruin, Maggie St. Claire’s debut novel, Martha, takes the reader from affluent residential areas of Los Angeles to its urban streets of despair, shadowing a 71-year-old, retired bank teller as she comes to grips with the challenges and adversities that threaten her existence.

This is the story of Martha Moore, many years divorced, estranged from her only child, and living a lie, as she enters her golden years. The most important things in her life, outside her pride in her desirable Hancock Park bungalow, are her book club friends. She attends their meetings dressed in her finest, projecting what she hopes is the image of a well-educated, well-to-do, Los Angeles dowager. The three wealthy women who comprise the remainder of the group are her best, perhaps only friends, and sometimes that’s a stretch.

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MOURNING DOVE
By Claire Fullerton
First Place Winner in Somerset Awards

Camille Crossan appears to be living an idyllic life in Claire Fullerton’s poignant, evocative novel, Mourning Dove.  Living in a superbly appointed mansion in “magnolia-lined and manicured” Memphis during the 1960s and 1970s, Camille’s family life shimmers with Southern charm.  Her mother, Posey, usually outfitted in a Lily Pulitzer shift, Pappagallo shoes, and a signature shade of pink lipstick, is a beauty with the wryest sense of humor and steel determination.

As a young girl, Camille, known as Millie, sees how those in her mother’s social orbit are captivated by her aura, how men are easily seduced by her flirtatious charm. Society is a game played by those who know its rules, and Posey means to win. Every time.  She, however, isn’t even the charismatic one in the family – that’s Finley, Millie’s older brother, who brims with intelligence, startling good looks, and messianic magnetism. A peek beneath the shiny surface of gracious Southern living, however, reveals enormous cracks in the foundation of the Crossan family.  One of the first things the adult Millie tells us about her brother is that he is dead.  She takes the reader back, though, to their childhood and coming of age, a tumultuous journey that both binds and separates the siblings.

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JETTY CAT PALACE CAFÉ
By Judy Keeslar Santamaria

Judy Keeslar Santamaria’s skillfully crafted debut novel, Jetty Cat Palace Café, takes the reader from the sophisticated urban areas of Washington state to its remote cranberry coast, accompanying professor Morgen Marín on a life-altering quest.

Like a present-day recipient of a DNA test gone wrong, when 34-year old Morgen, celebrated pianist and music professor, leaves after visiting her elderly grandmother Eleanor, her mind is spinning. Eleanor, preparing for the inevitable, shared family history, documents, and longstanding questions, which blindsided her granddaughter.

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JOEL EMMANUEL
By J.P. Kenna
First Place Winner in Somerset and Clue Awards

Set in the Pacific Northwest in the 1970s, Joel Emmanuel by JP Kenna rewards its readers with the story of a boy coming of age and how he understands the changes around him. Kenna’s style echoes the English novels of the 19th century.

Young Joel Emmanuel Webber, named for a Wobbly executed long ago in 1915, lives with his mother, Nance Raindance, in a cabin on the Skagit River near Seattle before it was a technopolis. Their world is antiquated even for the 1970s and defined by farming, fishing, and basics like a woodburning cookstove, kerosene lamps, and candles. Joel calls his mother by her given name, doesn’t know his father, and lives an open life free of school and, even occasionally, clothing. He is sensitive and easily succumbs to tears. 

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Have a story that breaks the mold? Submit by the end of November for the 2021 CIBAs! 

See the 2020 Somerset Winners here!

When you’re ready, did you know that Chanticleer offers editorial services? We do and have been doing so since 2011.

Our professional editors are top-notch and are experts in the Chicago Manual of Style. They have and are working for the top publishing houses (TOR, McMillian, Thomas Mercer, Penguin Random House, Simon Schuster, etc.).

If you would like more information, we invite you to email Kiffer or Sharon at KBrown@ChantiReviews.com or SAnderson@ChantiReviews.com for more information, testimonials, and fees.

We work with a small number of exclusive clients who want to collaborate with our team of top-editors on an on-going basis. Contact us today!

Chanticleer Editorial Services also offers writing craft sessions and masterclasses. Sign up to find out where, when, and how sessions being held.

• A great way to get started is with our manuscript evaluation service, with more information available here.
• And we do editorial consultations for $75. Learn more here.
• If you’re confident in your book, consider submitting it for a Editorial Book Review here or to one of our Chanticleer International Awards here.

And remember! Our 10th Anniversary Chanticleer Authors Conference (CAC22) will be April 7-10, 2022, where our 2021 CIBA winners will be announced. Space is limited and seats are already filling up, so sign up today!  CAC22 and the CIBA Ceremonies will be hosted at the Hotel Bellwether in Beautiful Bellingham, Wash. Sign up and see the latest updates here!

Thank you for reading this Chanticleer Writer’s Toolbox article.

Writers Toolbox Helpful Links: 

The Prolific Writer W. Somerset Maugham

Somerset as a Fin de Siècle Author

What is Literary Fiction?

The traditional publishing tool that indie authors can use to propel their writing careers to new levels?  The Seven Must-Haves for Authors – Unlocking the Secrets of Successful Publishing Series by Kiffer Brown