I know Amazon have got their shortlist for the Rising Stars award sorted out, however, I am a strong believer that there are plenty of other excellent debuts that have been released in the past 12 months - I can't judge whether they have been hard done by becuase I haven't read anything on the shortlist - yet!

If you're an author whose debut was pipped to the post on the shortlist, what do you think of the current shortlist, if you have the chance to replace one of the books on the list, what would it be? or if you have read any that was on the list, what did you think of it?

Or, if like me, you have checked out the list, which books are exciting you right now, and want to check out? Personally, off the back of the awards, I have bought Stuart Neville's The Twelve...

Hi Natalie
Can you tell me what books are on the shortlist or how to access the list so I can check it out please? I'd like to look them up but am fairly new to amazon and not sure how to do that! Thank you.

I am not an author and the only one I have read on the current list is The Hungry Ghosts which I believe fully deserves to be there, it is one of the best debut's I have read for a long time. Other excellent debut's are: Of Bees and Mist - Erick Setiawan; The Street Philosopher - Matthew Plampin; An Equal Stillness - Francesca Kay; - Not Untrue and Not Unkind - Ed O'Loughlin (longlisted for Booker but that can be the kiss of death) and Shooting the Moon - Robert Fannin. I think what authors have to accept is that the choice is made from novelists of all nationalities and Rising Stars is attempting to find the future greats. The only one I have really disagreed with was on one of last years lists can't remember the name of it now, written by a teenager, Catherine something, it just didn't rate on any level and going by the reviews I wasn't the only person who thought this.

Hi Ann,

The shortlist can be found on here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/risingstars

As you can see, there are only 8 books on the shortlist, and I've read a couple of excellent debuts this year (Saul Pope's Russia, The Man and Jonathan David and Claus Von Bohlen's Who is Charlie Conti). Whether they would fall into the 2009 catagory, I don't know, but I always get excited about new authors breaking out, and I think Amazon is a good forum for giving new writers a decent chance at breaking into the mainstream, as well as offering an opinion on the literary blockbusters.

I have had a look at the list and I like the sound of 'The Very Thought of You' by Rosie Alison. Has anyone read it? What did you think?

Charlene x

Thank you very much Natalie. I'll take a look now. Yes I agree about new authors and always like to support them in particular wherever possible.

I agree, amazon are right to promote new authors. It's a difficult market to enter and amazon is in a position to offer great publicity. Their support is appreciated by many authors, including those who don't appear on the list. I'm sure listing on amazon has contributed to the success of my own debut thriller, which my publisher had to reprint only two months after the launch. I will certainly be taking a look at the titles on the list and hope their selection leads on to greater success. I'm sure it will.
Cut Short (DI Geraldine Steel)

There are so many debuts published every year that things like Amazon's Rising Stars or the Guardian first book awards are great for getting the word out. From the Guardian list, I thought the Girl with Glass Feet by Ali Shaw was amazing - not sure about some of the others though... The Harrowing is a great first world war novel from a first-time writer and I also loved the Burnt-out Town of Miracles (first time published in English I think, though not his first novel)..

It is good when new authors are recognised, although not everyone can get a mention as there are always so many books published and new authors appearing all the time. Sarah Waters for instance, when I first got her debut novel I was hooked, and so I have always bought any new book when it has been published (five novels so far). I like a lot of nineteenth century literature and I love reading what an author first wrote, and then what they wrote in later years, this way you can see how people change, or evolve their style, etc.

I enjoyed "Kevin" by Joe Castle, which I read with my son, who enjoyed it a lot. Well written and thought provoking, but not very long (120 pages or so).

Also "Sherlock Holmes and the Underpants of Death," which is very funny indeed.

It's tricky for me. Although I'm no academic I am sucker for reading prose from the international scene. Having looked fervently online for a blend of international authors and books from all 4 corners of the world I am a strong believer that there are millions of books in publication I am trying to snatch a glimpse of their world - so I don't tend to follow fads of emerging writers as the pedigree is already out there. On the flipside some books I have read were remarkable debuts.

Whilst our television screens are swamped with reality shows such as Big Brother, Britain's / America's Got Talent, Pop Idol and X Factor we do have to consider that there are a lot of really talented writers out there who do not get any real platform of publicity. They work hard in perfecting their manuscripts only for their hardwork to be chucked on a slush pile at publishing houses. Most writers don't have portals like reality TV shows to showcase their work - so we should be grateful to the likes of Amazon for championing such talent. Everyone wins - the auther, the publisher, the seller and the reader.

One thing that is puzzling me, how do Amazon choose their Rising Stars? I cannot help but believe that they are influenced by more than Amazon reviews, because there is one on the shortlist with only 2 reviews, and I know of a couple of other debuts that have fared far better in terms of reader feedback... and have received more than one review in one case!

Rosie Alison's The Very Thought of You is a beautiful story and I would strongly recommend it.

I don't think that Reviews have anything to do with the initial choice of books. There is a Rising Stars panel that decide which novels will be on the list. The ultimate winner is the book that receives the highest number of good/favourable reviews - something like that anyway.

I Readalot, I wonder if Amazon could do something like a Reader's Choice awards? By working on a reverse principle to the one you described above?

By that, I mean let us little people decide the shortlist by our reviews, and then let the panel decide from the most popular? I think it would be a great idea, though something needs to be put in place to wheedle out the genuine reviews and the "astroturfing", so to speak!

Hi Natalie,
My debut novel, Half-truths and White Lies, won the Daily Mail First Novel Award and was published in April of this year. I welcome any award that acknowledges writers who are the start of their writing careers, so woudl be disinclined to knock any off the list - even if I could replace them. Debut novels received very little publicity and pubication is only the first part of the battle to get shops to stock your work and to spread the word. The Booker Prize shortlist last year was so refreshing because it featured debut novels as well as more established writers. I have yet to work my way through Amazon's shortlist but this seems like an excellent starting point for a wishlist. Good luck to all of them, I say. (www.jane-davis.co.uk)

For me, the debut novel of 2009 was 'Education, Edukation, Edukasun,' by James Rainsford. Don't think it was on Rising Stars, but I did enjoy it more than anything else I've read in the last few years. it was very funny, and maybe because I'm an ex teacher it rung many bells with me. You can read some reviews here: Education, Edukation, Edukashun.

Hi
I've read through your reviews. I'm not an 'international' author (i.e. I'm British!) but my debut novel has an international setting. From your range of reading, it might interest you. You can view it here and/or via its website if you'd like to review it. www.andnnowings.com.

Like NJR, I'm British, well English actually, and my novel has a 19th century international setting, see Blood On Their Petticoats which took a lot of research. Like many debut novelists, I have low expectations but high hopes, but keep getting disappointed, firstly, the difficulty of getting published, and then promotion (we are unable to go on TV shows to promote our books!). It is always very difficult to choose 'best books', as art of any kind is very subjective, and to have a panel of who? Academics? Publishers? Ordinary people who like easy reading? Those who like to learn something during reading? etc. Also genre, how do you differenciate between them? I'm afraid I do not place a lot of store in these lists and awards, as in the past I've been disappointed when paying attention to them. It's like a friend recommending a book because they thought it fantastic, and you find it dull and maybe badly written. Bye-the-way, I love these forums.

The awards are a very good idea, because they give you an idea about the book. This is why I like to browse bookshops you can actually pick up a book and read it. I like to read the reader's comments regarding a book. But just because a book is in an awards list, doesn't mean you will like it.
Would be interested to know what you think about my own book! :)
Yvonne, When the Sax Man Plays

For me the debut novel is Shakespeare's Truth by Rex Richards - an intelligent and thought provoking thriller that's already been described as surpassing Da vinci code. See www.rexrichards.com for more

"Mrs Fisher's Tulip" by new author Melanie Hughes. It's so entertaining, funny and sad. I couldn't put it down, and finished it in one go at 4am, then couldn't sleep for laughing. Quite beautifully and cleverly written.

Mrs Fisher's Tulip

I found this info on the author via google:

http://www.actorsandwriters.org/melanie.hughes/index.html