The Polari Prize is the UK and Ireland’s only dedicated LGBTQ+ book prize, founded by author andactivist, Paul Burston. The Polari First Book Prize was launched in 2011. Winners include Fiona Mozley, Saleem Haddad, PaulMcVeigh, Kirsty Logan, Diriye Osman, John McCullough, Mari Hannah, James Maker, Angela Chadwick, Amrou Al-Kadhi, MohsinZaidi, 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, DianaSouhami in 2021, Joelle Taylor in 2022, Julia Armfield in 2023 and Jon Ransom in 2024. The Children’s & YA Book Prize wasestablished in 2022 and won by Terry Eagleton and James Mayhew, and in 2024 won by Sarah Hagger-Holt.
The awards have been covered in a wide range of publications including Metro, the Bookseller, BookBrunch, the Guardian, the i,Irish Independent, Press Association, Gay Times, Winq, BBC Radio 4, The London Magazine, Wasafiri and elsewhere.