by Henna Zamurd-Butt
This week, the Jhalak Prize for Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour released its inaugural longlist. The new award, which seeks to celebrate books by British/British resident BAME writers, is due to announce a winner at Bare Lit Festival 2017.
The Jhalak Prize was founded by authors Sunny Singh and Nikesh Shukla in conjunction with Media Diversified, with support from the Authors’ Club, and with a £1,000 prize donated by an anonymous benefactor.
Speaking about the longlist, which spans fiction, Young Adult (YA), non-fiction, debuts and short stories, judge Alex Wheadle MBE said “I thought the quality of the submissions were outstanding and also showed great promise and potential.” The judging panel, chaired by Sunny Singh, also includes YA author Catherine Johnson, poet and broadcaster Musa Okwonga, and Booker-longlisted fiction writer Yvvette Edwards.
The shortlist will be announced on 6th February 2017, in the meantime check out the longlist below:
- Chasing the Stars by Malorie Blackman (Doubleday Childrens)
- Harmless Like You by Rowan Hisayo Buchanan (Sceptre)
- Orangeboy by Patrice Lawrence (Hodder)
- Augustown by Kei Miller (W&N)
- The Girl Of Ink And Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave (Chicken House)
- A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee (Harvill Secker)
- Speak Gigantular by Irenosen Okojie (Jacaranda)
- Black And British: A Forgotten History by David Olusoga (Macmillan)
- In the Bonesetter’s Waiting Room: Travels through Indian Medicine by Aarathi Prasad (Profile)
- The Bone Readers by Jacob Ross (Peepal Tree Press)
- Another Day In The Death Of America by Gary Younge (Faber)
Media Diversified 