Jhalak Prize for writers of colour announces judging panel

The Jhalak Prize returns for 2019 with a new judging panel and an open submission window Read More

MP accuses BAME book prize of discrimination

by Sunny Singh Equalities and Human Rights Commission demands justification from Jhalak Prize, following complaint from Philip Davies MP March 17, 2017: The date that the very first Jhalak Prize for Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour was awarded. It was an evening that all of us involved with the prize had… Read More

And the winner of the inaugural Jhalak Prize is…

Today, we announce the winner of the first ever Jhalak Prize for Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour. Jacob Ross, novelist, short story writer and tutor, wins the £1000 prize with his first foray into crime fiction, The Bone Readers. The book, described by judge Musa Okwonga as ‘by turns thrilling, visceral… Read More

For immigrants in today’s Britain, is ‘integration’ an unachievable ideal?

by Sabeena Akhtar  Let’s face it, modern political discourse on migration is failing us, normalising inflammatory and dehumanising rhetoric in the quotidian. (Britain First’s recent election broadcast, anyone?) Immigrant stories are increasingly reductionist and politically expedient, measured solely on our relation to ‘Britishness’. A few weeks ago I saw Ayisha Malik, author of Sofia Khan is Not… Read More

Decolonise, not Diversify

by Kavita Bhanot Since the recent failure of World Book Night to include any writers of colour in its 2015 list, there has been a fresh bout of conversation about the need for more ‘diversity’ in the literature that is published and awarded in Britain, as well as amongst those working in publishing. Alongside a… Read More

The Shukla Test

by Nikesh Shukla Someone wrote of one of my short stories that it was ‘an amorphous mess of Indian names’. The implication was that, had I gone with more traditional names like Steve, Bob, Andy, Joe and Paul, he would have liked the short story more. Having said that, he did end the review by… Read More