Prize creators hope it will ‘inspire the publishing industry to look beyond its present narrow margins’
Following the recent backlash against lack of diversity in UK publishing, a new annual literary prize as been announced restricted to writers of colour, to recognise “[authors] who feel that their work is often marginalised unless it fulfils a romantic fetishisation of their cultural heritage”.
The Jhalak prize for book of the year by a writer of colour will be awarded annually to British or British-resident writers, with the overall winner awarded £1,000. It is the first prize in the UK to only accept entries by writers of colour. All genres, including fiction, short stories, non-fiction, graphic novels, poetry and children’s books, will be eligible, as will titles by self-published authors and ebooks.
When the marginalised demand change, we are told to ‘do something for ourselves.’ The Jhalak Prize is ‘doing something'
Related: How do we stop UK publishing being so posh and white?
Related: 'Where are the brown people?': authors slam lack of diversity in UK publishing
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