An interview with Thomas Waugh, spy novelist and judge for a new spy novel book prize.
Firstly, can you give us some information about The SpyMasters Book Prize?
The full details for the competition can be found at
The prize is open to anyone who has released a hardback or paperback spy novel in 2024. We are accepting submissions from established and new authors alike. The prize is open to authors all around the world too. We want to pick from as wide a pool of talent as possible.
The prize money is £500. The longlist of twenty will be invited to a prizegiving event in September. It'll be a fun night - and the evening will provide a platform for entrants to be able to network with fellow authors and other professionals in the trade.
Tell us a little about the genesis of the prize and your fellow judges.
The spymasters podcast was borne out of a love of espionage writing. Antonia Senior, the host of @spymasterspod, is currently writing a book about the Cambridge Five. And the editor of Aspects of History, Oliver Webb-Carter, is working on a project which involves MI5. Ollie is an ardent fan of spy fiction too. Aspects of History has long hosted material about the history of espionage. The site also hosts author platforms with a number of espionage writers, including Ben Macintyre, Calder Walton, Jane Thynne, Helen Fry, Alex Gerlis and Michael Smith. I felt duly honoured to be invited onto the judging panel. I know that the other judges - Shane Whalley from @spybrary and Paul Burke from @crimetimeuk - are greatly looking forward to going through the submissions. Although we all share a love of the likes of John le Carre, Graham Greene and Ian Fleming - one of the aims of the prize is for us to discover new voices and champion them. As well as enjoying the process of reading the entrees, we will doubtless have fun meeting up to discuss the various novels and selecting our favourites to create a longlist, shortlist and winner. By the end of our judging lunch we could well be slurring our speech from the wine, as well as speaking our mind.
As a spy novelist myself, I have some knowledge of the genre and can provide a different perspective on things. I should say though, that in terms of a depth and breadth of knowledge of spy fiction, it's a veritable coup and treat to have Shane and Paul on the judging panel. I'd strongly recommend for authors and readers to check out their podcasts. Their enthusiasm is more infectious than Covid and you can trust their sense of taste and recommendations, whether they're discussing new titles or classics in the genre.
You have had some wonderful success with your own spy novels. The Daniel Ambler series possess some great twists and, with the protagonist being a spy novelist, the books provide a satirical insight into the publishing trade and life as an author. Are you working on anything at the moment? Do you think that entrants to the competition will benefit from reading your books?
It's likely my next book will be a Jack Reacher-like crime thriller, which will focus on the character of James Marshal (although I have every intention of Daniel Ambler making a cameo appearance). I will return to writing a more conventional spy novel after that, however.
I hope that readers, whether they be authors or otherwise, will benefit from reading the novels because they enjoy them. The Daniel Ambler books reveal some of my influences. I came up with the idea for Duty Calls after re-reading The Russia House by le Carre. Eastern Approaches is set during a Graham Greene conference. But I'm looking forward to reading plenty of submissions which cover different ground to my books. There's more than one way to write a spy novel. Indeed, I would probably question the sanity of anyone who used me as a mentor figure, as opposed to le Carre or Greene. A writer should learn their tradecraft from them, not me.
Whether you write spy fiction or are a reader and fan of the genre, I would recommend you follow my fellow judges on twitter/x, as well as tune into their podcasts.
"What a mistaka to maka" ... Ian Fleming didn’t know what a secret agent really was! Fleming dubbed James Bond a "secret" agent yet simultaneously depicted 007 as an employee on MI6's payroll. You may say "so what" because Bond is fiction. So is Postman Pat but his creator John Cunliffe never called him an Uber or Deliveroo courier.
ReplyDeleteNow an MI6 secret agent would never have: (1) been an employee on MI6’s payroll who took holidays and submitted expense claims etc; (2) reported directly to the Head of MI6, had annual appraisals and been on extremely familiar terms with many other MI6 employees such as Q or Moneypenny; (3) been a frequent visitor to MI6 HQ and other MI6 buildings; and (4) even used his own name when he met ministers et al in Whitehall.
Given Ian Fleming's background in British naval intelligence in World War 11, that contradictory classification of 007 was about as absurd as calling a Brain Surgeon a Hair Dresser or a Navy Seal a Coastguard as noted in the latest intriguing news article in TheBurlingtonFiles (advert free) website.
To quote from the article ... "As for 007 being “secret”, ... since everybody knew ... his favourite drink was shaken not stirred, I’m surprised he wasn’t poisoned more often … especially as he insisted on letting everyone know his name was “Bond, James Bond”! Perhaps Bond’s true skill lay in being so conspicuously ostentatious that no one believed he could genuinely be a spy!
"So is Postman Pat but his creator John Cunliffe never called him an Uber or Deliveroo courier." - I am literally crying with laughter!
DeleteI think Bond is the worst spy in the history of spying!
DeleteThis sounds like a great competition for authors of this genre, but why don't you accept ebook for submissions. I know some really great thriller authors who only have their novels on Kindle.
ReplyDelete