Debut novelist Claire Lynch has won the gold prize at the Nero Book Awards for A Family Matter, which was inspired by the true stories of lesbian women who lost custody of their children in the 1980s. Nick Hornby, chair of the judges, said the book was "both readable and intelligent" and "will be read and thought about for years to come". Lynch received the Nero Book Awards' debut fiction accolade last month, and has now also received the overall prize for the best book of 2025. She is an honorary professor at Brunel University of London, which is among the prizes' sponsors. A spokesman for the awards said the university "had no say or influence over the choice of winner". Hornby said the judges "all loved" A Family Matter. "We admired its wry humour, its deft storytelling, and its love for all its characters, even those who behave in ways we find hard to understand, and who make choices which we would regard as morally questionable," he said.…