A few months after Hilary Mantel died in September 2022, the novelist Maggie O’Farrell was browsing in a bookshop. But Mantel was an engaged and enthusiastic supporter of other writers, especially those in the crucial early stages of their careers. It’s fitting, then, that the award inaugurated in her name, the Hilary Mantel prize for fiction, should focus on recognising such promise. Numerous writers attest to the difference Mantel’s support made, especially early in their careersWhen it comes to first-time writers, Mantel understood that this kind of support is crucial, says O’Farrell. When they were working on the stage plays, “you’d see the cast of actors not quite know how to approach Hilary.