THE POLARI PRIZE 2024
WINNERS ANNOUNCED
The Polari Book Prizes, the UK’s book prizes for emerging and established LGBTQ+ writers, have announced this year’s winners.
The prizes are run by Polari literary salon, which is currently touring the UK, showcasing prize winners past and present, together with nominees from the prizes’ 14 year history.
The Polari Prize National Showcase is funded by Arts Council England. For further details, see Events.
This year there are three Polari Prizes, the Polari Children’s & YA Prize, Polari First Book Prize and the Polari Book Prize.
The winners of the 2024 Polari Prizes are:
Polari Children’s & YA Prize
The Fights That Make Us by Sarah Hagger-Holt, published by Usborne Books.
Polari First Book Prize
Bellies by Nicola Dinan, published by Penguin.
Polari Book Prize
The Gallopers by Jon Ransom, published by Muswell Press.
The winners were announced on Friday Nov 29 at the Polari Prize event at the British Library.
The Polari First Book Prize 2024 shortlisted titles
Neon Roses by Rachel Dawson (John Murray)
Local Fires by Joshua Jones (Parthian Books)
Sunburn by Chloe Michelle (Verve Books) Bellies by Nicola Dinan (Penguin)
Greekling by Kostya Tsolakis (Nine Arches Press)
Transitional: In One Way or Another, We All Transition by Munroe Bergdorf (Bloomsbury)
The Polari Book Prize 2024 shortlisted titles
Killing Jericho by William Hussey (Bonnier)
The Gallopers by Jon Ransom (Muswell Press)
The Fitful Sleep of Immigrants by Orlando Ortega-Medina (Bywater Books)
Forty Lies by David Shenton (Knockabout)
Hard Drive by Paul Stephenson (Carcanet)
Blue Hunger by Viola Di Grado, tr. Jamie Richards (Scribe)
The Polari Children’s and YA 2024 prize shortlisted titles
Bitterthorn by Kat Dunn (Andersen)
Out of the Blue by Robert Tregoning (Bloomsbury)
The Fights That Make Us by Sarah Hagger-Holt (Usborne)
Gwen and Art are not in Love by Lex Croucher (Bloomsbury)
Away With Words by Sophie Cameron (Little Tiger)
SPONSOR
FMcM Associates sponsors the Polari First Book Prize (£1,000).
DHH Literary Agency sponsors the book of the year Polari Prize (£2,000).
The Children’s & YA Prize has a new sponsor, Ash Literary Agency, which specialises in Children’s and YA books (£1,000)..
JUDGES
Polari First Book Prize judges: author Rachel Holmes, author and writing coach Karen McLeod, author Jon Ransom (Polari Prize winner 2023), Co-chair of Spread The Word Simon Richardson and author Paul Burston (chair)
Polari Prize judges: author Julia Armfield (Polari Prize winner 2023), literary critic Suzi Feay, cultural sector leader Chris Gribble, author and comedian VG Lee and author Paul Burston (chair)
Polari Children’s & YA Prize judges: educator Rayyan Aboo, librarian Zoey Dixon, writer Erica Gillingham, author Sam Sedgeman and author Jodie Lancet-Grant (chair)
ABOUT THE POLARI PRIZE
The Polari Prize is the UK and Ireland’s only dedicated LGBTQ+ book prize, founded by author and activist, Paul Burston. The Polari First Book Prize was launched in 2011. Previous winners include Fiona Mozley, Saleem Haddad, Paul McVeigh, Kirsty Logan, Diriye Osman, John McCullough, Mari Hannah, James Maker, Angela Chadwick, Amrou Al-Kadhi, Mohsin Zaidi, Adam Zmith and Jon Ransom.
The Polari Prize was founded in 2019 and awarded to Andrew McMillan in its inaugural year, to Kate Davies in 2020, Diana Souhami in 2021, Joelle Taylor in 2022 and Julia Armfield in 2023. The Children’s & YA Book Prize was established in 2022 and won by Terry Eagleton and James Mayhew.
The awards have been covered in a wide range of publications including Metro, the Bookseller, Book Brunch, the Guardian, the i, Irish Independent, Press Association, Gay Times, Winq, BBC Radio 4, The London Magazine, Wasafiri and elsewhere. For further details on the prize, please visit: polarisalon.com.
ABOUT PAUL BURSTON
Paul Burston is an author, activist and founder of Polari Literary Salon and Polari Prizes. A founding editor of Attitude magazine, he has written for many publications including the Guardian, Time Out, the Times and Sunday Times. He is the author of five non-fiction books, the editor of two short story collections and the author of six novels.
His memoir We Can Be Heroes was published by Little A in June 2023 to rave reviews from across the industry including from Russell T. Davies and Bernardine Evaristo. ES Magazine called it ‘probably the gay book of the year’. In 2016, he featured in the British Council’s Global List of ‘33 visionary people promoting freedom equality and LGBT rights around the world.’
ABOUT JODIE LANCET-GRANT
Jodie Lancet-Grant is the author of the nationally acclaimed 2021 picture book The Pirate Mums, which, read by Sue Perkins, was the first ever Cbeebies bedtime story to feature a family with two mums. Her writing has appeared in publications including The Times, the Independent and the Telegraph and she is a passionate advocate of LGBTQ+ representation in children’s culture.
Jodie is Chair of Judges for the Children’s and Young Adults category of the Polari Prize, the UK’s only prize for queer writing. Jodie also works as Communications Director at Pan Macmillan on high-profile non-fiction books for Bluebird. The Marvellous Doctors for Magical Creatures is her second picture book, published with Oxford University Press.
For all media enquiries please contact Ned Green or Hope Ndaba at FMcM Associates at NedG@fmcm.co.uk or HopeN@fmcm.co.uk