THE organisers of the Essex Book Festival certainly chose well when they were deciding on their very first Flagship Author for their Essex Read project.

And that's because the author in question, Sarah Perry, has just been shortlisted for Best Novel as part of the prestigious Costa Book Awards.

Her book, The Essex Serpent, came out in June, since which time it has captured the hearts and minds of both critics and readers alike.

As the name suggests the book is set in Essex, rural Essex to be precise, and was inspired by a real life story told to Sarah by her husband.

Sarah, who was born and raised in Chelmsford, says: "I was driving back home with my husband, who is also from Essex, and he asked whether I had heard of the legend of the Henham Serpent, which I hadn't.

"That legend dates back to the 17th century at a time of great religious fervour but it got me to thinking what if the Essex Serpent came back and in a time of Darwinism and great naturalist scientific discovery."

Set in Victorian London and an Essex village in the 1890s, against a backdrop of the scientific and medical discovery which defined the era, The Essex Serpent tells the story of Cora Seaborne, a well-to-do London widow, and Will Ransome, the vicar of the Essex village Cora moves to.

They meet amidst rumours the mythical Essex Serpent, once said to roam the local marshes, has returned and while Cora as a keen amateur naturalist is enthralled, convinced the beast may be a real undiscovered species, Will sees his parishioners' agitation as a moral panic and a deviation from true faith.

The result has been a literary smash hit with critics praising not just Sarah's sublime storytelling but also the way she has conjured up the beauty of the Essex countryside.

The Essex Serpent follow Sarah's hugely successful debut, After Me Comes The Flood, which was winner of the East Anglian Book of the Year and longlisted for the Guardian First Book Award.

"It took me six years to write the first book," Sarah adds. "I struggled enormously and really it was like pulling teeth. But because that book did well and people liked it, writing The Essex Serpent was completely different, full of joy and excitement. I loved every minute of it."

And Sarah loves it even more after discovering last week it was shortlisted for the Costa’s.

Sarah says “To have a panel of judges consider it one of the four best novels of the year is so extraordinary.

“I think it will give me greater courage and confidence to carry on writing. I wish I had rigid self-belief regardless of outside influence, but when someone enjoys my book, I go: ‘Oh, I’ll do another one then’.”

Next year's Essex Book Festival looks set to be the biggest and best yet with even more events and special weekends devoted to celebrating the written and spoken word.

Festival director Ros Green says: "We are delighted to have Sarah as our very first author for the Essex Read. We're going to be picking an Essex author each year and getting as many people as possible to read their book through the month of March, and what better way to start than with a book that has just been shortlisted for the Costa's."

For more highlights of next year's festival keep reading the Gazette in the coming weeks.