Stacey Hall’s debut historical novel, The Familiars, has been shortlisted by the Society of Authors for the Betty Trask Prize. The prize is for the best first novel by a writer under 35 and is judged by Ben Brooks, Elanor Dymott and Vaseem Khan.

Four titles, including The Familiars by Stacey Halls (Zaffre), The Parisian by Isabella Hammad (Jonathan Cape), Hitch by Kathryn Hind (Hamish Hamilton) and The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney by Okechukwu Nzelu (Dialogue Books) are listed this year.

Dymott said of the selection: "These debut novelists are intensely engaged with their craft, conversing easily with their forbears at the same time as blazing exhilarating and beautiful trails into the future."