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submissions OPEN for polari prizes 2025

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How To Submit:
For further information about submissions, please email polariprize@gmail.com including the title of the book and the name of the prize you wish to enter in the subject field.

Deadline:
The deadline for submissions is Monday 12th May 2025, but publishers should express their intent to submit by Monday 5th May.

Details:
Writers must be born or based in the UK and Ireland.

All entries must be first published in the United Kingdom or Ireland in the 12 months up to and including 1st February 2025. Titles may have been previously published outside the UK and titles with simultaneous UK and US publications within this timeframe are eligible. Self-published works in print formats are also eligible for the prize.

Works should be submitted by the publisher, while self-published works should be submitted together with a letter explaining why the book was self-published. The submission fee for the Polari First Book Prize is £25, and the submission fee for the Polari Book Prize is £30.

More 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. Winners include James Maker, John McCullough, Mari Hannah, Diriye Osman, Kirsty Logan, Paul McVeigh, Saleem Haddad, Fiona Mozley, Angela Chadwick, Amrou Al-Kadhi, Mohsin Zaidi, Adam Zmith, Jon Ransom and Nicola Dinan.
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, Julia Armfield in 2023 and Jon Ransom in 2024.
The Children’s & YA Book Prize was established in 2022 and won by Terry Eagleton and James Mayhew. In 2024 it was won by Sarah Hagger-Holt. The Prize is chaired by author Jodie Lancet-Grant and runs biannually, returning in 2026.
The awards have been covered in a wide range of publications including Metro, the Bookseller, BookBrunch, Country and Townhouse, Gay Times, the Guardian, the Huffington Post, the I, Irish Independent, the Lagos Review, Press Association, Publishers Weekly, The London Magazine, the Times of India, Winq, Wasafiri and on BBC Radio 4 and other broadcast media.