Polari has been awarded a grant from Arts Council England, to fund a 20-date tour of the UK and beyond. The Polari Prize Tour will kick off on November 26 at London’s Southbank Centre and continue until October 2019, when next year’s Prize winner will be announced.

This mammoth tour will include events in Belfast, Edinburgh, Hastings, Manchester, Newcastle and Mallorca. A special event to mark 40 years of London’s legendary club Heaven will also form part of the tour.

The Polari First Book Prize was founded in 2011 to recognise new LGBT+ writing talent. Past winners include Saleem Haddad, Paul McVeigh, Kirsty Logan, Diriye Osman, Mari Hannah, John McCullough and James Maker. Following last year’s tour, submissions for the 2018 prize quadrupled in number, including books by emerging writers we worked with on this or previous tours.

The Polari Prize Tour will reflect the growth and scope of the prize, showcasing the best in emerging and established LGBT+ authors, poets and spoken word performers.