Jhalak Prize

Jhalak Prize
Awarded forBook of the year by a writer of colour
CountryUnited Kingdom
Reward£1,000
First award2017; 9 years ago (2017)
WebsiteOfficial website

The Jhalak Prize for Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour is an annual literary prize awarded to British or British-resident BAME writers. £1,000 is awarded to the sole winner.

The Jhalak Prize was launched in 2016 and was created by writers Sunny Singh, Nikesh Shukla, and Media Diversified. It is supported by The Authors’ Club and by The Jhalak Foundation,[1] owned by Professor Singh's family. The prize and foundation are named after Professor Singh's grandmother.[2] It is the second literary prize in the UK to only accept entries by writers of colour, following the SI Leeds Literary Prize for BAME women writers, which was first awarded in 2012. In 2017, the comedian Shappi Khorsandi withdrew her novel from the longlist because she said she felt that "my skin colour was up for an award rather than my book".[3] Consequentially, the prize was reported to the Equality and Human Rights Commission,[4][5] but the complaint was not upheld, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission stated in 2017 that "this award is the type of action which the Commission supports and recommends".[6]

In 2020, a sister award, the Jhalak Children’s & YA Prize, was founded.[7]

From 2025 onwards the prize was divided into two separate awards for prose and poetry.

Jhalak Prize (2017–2024) recipients

Jhalak Prize winners and shortlists
Year Author Title Publisher Result Ref.
2017[a] Jacob Ross The Bone Readers Winner [8][9]
Kiran Millwood Hargrave The Girl of Ink and Stars The Chicken House Shortlist [10]
Abir Mukherjee A Rising Man Harvill Secker Shortlist [10]
Irenosen Okojie Speak Gigantular Jacaranda Books Shortlist [10]
David Olusoga Black and British: A Forgotten History Macmillan Publishers Shortlist [10]
Gary Younge Another Day In The Death Of America Faber Shortlist [10]
2018[b] Reni Eddo-Lodge Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race Winner [11][12]
Nadeem Aslam The Golden Legend Faber Shortlist [13]
Kayo Chingonyi Kumukanda Chatto & Windus Shortlist [13]
Xiaolu Guo Once Upon a Time in the East Chatto & Windus Shortlist [13]
Meena Kandasamy When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young Wife Atlantic Books Shortlist [13]
Kiran Millwood-Hargrave The Island at the End of Everything The Chicken House Shortlist [13]
2019[c] Guy Gunaratne In Our Mad and Furious City Winner [14][15]
Akala Natives: Race and Class in the Ruins of Empire Two Roads Shortlist [16]
Roma Agrawal Built: The Hidden Stories Behind Our Structures Bloomsbury Shortlist [16]
Raymond Antrobus The Perseverance Penned in the Margins Shortlist [16]
Aminatta Forna Happiness Bloomsbury Shortlist [16]
Onjali Q. Rauf The Boy At the Back of the Class Orion Children's Books Shortlist [16]
2020[d] Johny Pitts Afropean: Notes From Black Europe Winner [17][18]
Dean Atta The Black Flamingo Hodder Children's Shortlist [19]
Yvonne Battle-Felton Remembered Dialogue Books Shortlist [19]
Candice Carty-Williams Queenie Orion Shortlist [19]
Mary Jean Chan Flèche Faber Shortlist [19]
Romesh Gunesekera Suncatcher Bloomsbury Shortlist [19]
2021[e] Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi The First Woman Winner [20][21]
Romalyn Ante Antiemetic for Homesickness Chatto & Windus Shortlist [22][23]
Catherine Cho Inferno Bloomsbury Shortlist [22][23]
Rachel Long My Darling From the Lions Picador Shortlist [22][23]
Katy Massey Are We Home Yet Jacaranda Books Shortlist [22][23]
Paul Mendez Rainbow Milk Dialogue Books Shortlist [22][23]
2022[f] Sabba Khan The Roles We Play Winner [24]
Arifa Akbar Consumed Sceptre Shortlist [25][26]
Mona Arshi Somebody Loves You And Other Stories Shortlist [25][26]
Vahni Capildeo Like a Tree, Walking Carcenet Press Shortlist [25][26]
Tice Cin Keeping the House And Other Stories Shortlist [25][26]
Kei Miller Things I Have Withheld Canongate Books Shortlist [25][26]
2023[g] Travis Alabanza None of the Above Winner [27][28]
Ayanna Lloyd Banwo When We Were Birds Hamish Hamilton Shortlist [29]
Angela Hui Takeaway Trapeze Shortlist [29]
Paterson Joseph The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho Dialogue Books Shortlist [29]
Sheena Patel I'm a Fan Rough Trade Books Shortlist [29]
Anita Pati Hiding to Nothing Liverpool University Press Shortlist [29]
2024[h] Yepoka Yeebo Anansi's Gold: The man who swindled the world Bloomsbury Winner [30][31]
Jason Allen-Paisant Self-Portrait as Othello Carcanet Shortlist [30]
Elizabeth-Jane Burnett Twelve Words for Moss Penguin Shortlist [30]
Jacqueline Crooks Fire Rush Vintage Shortlist [30]
Noreen Masud A Flat Place Penguin Shortlist [30]
Ami Rao Boundary Road Everything With Words Shortlist [30]
  1. ^ The 2017 judges were Sunny Singh, Catherine Johnson, Yvvette Edwards, Musa Okwonga, and Alex Wheatle.
  2. ^ The 2018 judges were Sunny Singh, Catherine Johnson, Tanya Byrne, Vera Chok, and Noo Saro-Wiwa.
  3. ^ The 2019 judges were Anna Perera, Sabrina Mahfouz, Sarah Shaffi, and Siana Bangura.
  4. ^ The 2020 judges were Roy McFarlane, Anita Sethi, Nikesh Shukla, and Kerry Young.
  5. ^ The 2021 judges were Yvonne Battle-Felton, Louise Doughty and Peter Kalu.
  6. ^ The 2022 judges were Mary Jean Chan, Chimene Suleyman and Stephen S. Thompson.
  7. ^ The 2023 judges were Haleh Agar, Yaba Badoe, Anthony Vahni Capildeo, Maisie Chan, Irfan Master and Monisha Rajesh.
  8. ^ The 2024 judges were Anni Domingo, Danielle Jawando, Stella Oni, J. P. Rose, Denise Saul and Rashmi Sirdeshpande.

Prose Prize

Jhalak Prose Prize winners and shortlists
Year Author Title Publisher Result Ref.
2025 N.S. Nuseibeh Namesake Winner [32]
Maame Blue The Rest of You Shortlist
Aniefiok Ekpoudom Where We Come From
Ashani Lewis Everest
Hisham Matar My Friends
Varaidzo Manny and the Baby

Poetry Prize

Jhalak Poetry Prize winners and shortlists
Year Author Title Publisher Result Ref.
2025 Mimi Khalvati Collected Poems Winner [32]
Amaan Hyder Self-Portrait with Family Shortlist
Karen McCarthy Woolf Top Doll
Gboyega Odubanjo Adam
Azad Ashim Sharma Boiled Owls
Rushika Wick Horse

Children's and Young Adult Prize recipients

Jhalak Children's and Young Adult Prize winners and shortlists
Year Author Title Publisher Result Ref.
2021 Patrice Lawrence Eight Pieces of Silva Winner [20][21]
Nii Ayikwei Parkes and Avril Filomeno The GA Picture Alphabet Kane Series Shortlist [22][23]
Kereen Getten When Life Gives You Mangoes Pushkin Children's
Danielle Jawando And the Stars Were Burning Brightly Simon & Schuster
Catherine Johnson Queen of Freedom Pushkin Children's
Margaret Sturton A Fox Called Herbert Andersen Press
2022 Maisie Chan Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths Piccadilly Press Winner [24]
Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé Ace of Spades Usborne Publishing Shortlist [25][26]
Malorie Blackman and Dapo Adeola We're Going to Find the Monster Puffin Books
Jeffrey Boakye, illus by Ngadi Smart The Musical Truth: A Musical History of Modern Black Britain in 28 Songs Faber
Rebecca Henry The Sound of Everything Everything With Words
Manjeet Mann The Crossing Penguin
2023 Danielle Jawando When our Worlds Collided Simon & Schuster Winner [27][28]
Lucy Farfort In Our Hands Tate Shortlist [29]
Janelle McCurdy, illus by Ana Latese Mia and the Lightcasters Faber
Christine Pillainayagam Ellie Pillai Is Brown Faber
Ann Sei Lin Rebel Skies Walker Books
Rashmi Sirdeshpande, illus. by Ruchi Mhasane Dadaji’s Paintbrush Andersen Press
2024 Hiba Noor Khan Safiyyah's War Andersen Press Winner [33][31]
Nadia Shireen Geoffrey Gets The Jitters Penguin Random House Shortlist [33]
Benjamin Dean How to Die Famous Simon & Schuster
Nathaneal Lessore Steady for This Hot Key Books
Erika Meza To the Other Side Hachette Children's
Candy Gourlay Wild Song David Fickling
2025 Nathanael Lessore King of Nothing Winner [34]
Lanisha Butterfield and Hoang Giang Flower Block Shortlist
Dev Kothari Bringing Back Kay-Kay
Ayaan Mohamud The Thread That Connects Us
Chibundu Onuzo Mayowa and the Sea of Words
Ashley Thorpe The Thread That Connects Us

Notes

References

  1. ^ "JHALAK FOUNDATION overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  2. ^ Culture, OxStu (30 May 2020). "Sunny Singh talks about the turbulent first few years of the Jhalak prize". The Oxford Student. Archived from the original on 19 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  3. ^ Cain, Sian (6 January 2017). "Shappi Khorsandi withdraws book from Jhalak prize longlist". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Jhalak Prize". Media Diversified. 10 September 2018. Archived from the original on 26 June 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
  5. ^ "Jhalak Prize controversy". State Sponsored Literature. 5 June 2020. Archived from the original on 24 November 2023. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  6. ^ Wood, Heloise (30 January 2018). "Independent presses dominate Jhalak Prize longlist". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on 6 March 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  7. ^ "About the Jhalak Prize". Jhalak Prize. Archived from the original on 29 September 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  8. ^ Cain, Sian (17 March 2017). "Caribbean crime thriller wins inaugural prize for only BAME writers". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 March 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2018.
  9. ^ "Awards: Bancroft; Jhalak; Tony Ryan". Shelf Awareness. 20 March 2017. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d e "Awards: Jhalak Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. 7 February 2017. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  11. ^ Flood, Alison (15 March 2018). "Reni Eddo-Lodge wins Jhalak prize for British writers of colour". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 16 March 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  12. ^ "Awards: Jhalak Winner; LBF International Excellence". Shelf Awareness. 19 March 2018. Archived from the original on 4 May 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  13. ^ a b c d e "Awards: Tufts Poetry Winners; Jhalak Prize Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. 21 February 2018. Archived from the original on 25 February 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  14. ^ Taylor, Jack (1 May 2019). "'The London book of our lifetime': Guy Gunaratne wins Jhalak prize". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 4 September 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  15. ^ "Awards: Wellcome Book; Jhalak; Prix Voltaire". Shelf Awareness. 3 May 2019. Archived from the original on 20 April 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  16. ^ a b c d e "Awards: Rathbones Folio Finalists; Jhalak Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. 9 April 2019. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  17. ^ Cain, Sian (26 May 2020). "Johny Pitts wins Jhalak prize for 'beautiful' history of black Europe". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 26 May 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  18. ^ "Awards: Jhalak Winner". Shelf Awareness. 29 May 2020. Archived from the original on 3 December 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  19. ^ a b c d e "Awards: Jhalak Shortlist". Shelf Awareness. 16 April 2020. Archived from the original on 1 October 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  20. ^ a b Flood, Alison (25 May 2021). "Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi and Patrice Lawrence win Jhalak prizes for writers of colour". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  21. ^ a b "Awards: Reading the West, Jhalak Winners". Shelf Awareness. 1 June 2022. Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  22. ^ a b c d e f "Shortlist announced for 2021 Jhalak Prize for BAME writers". Books+Publishing. 14 April 2021. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2021.
  23. ^ a b c d e f "Awards: Whiting Winners; Jhalak and Sheikh Zayed Shortlists". Shelf Awareness. 15 April 2021. Archived from the original on 20 April 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  24. ^ a b Mechler, Anita; Merlene, Kate (2 June 2022). "Sabba Khan Wins the 2022 Jhalak Prize". Library Journal. Archived from the original on 19 November 2022. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  25. ^ a b c d e f "Jhalak Prize 2022 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 20 April 2022. Archived from the original on 28 April 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  26. ^ a b c d e f "Awards: Oates Winner; Jhalak Shortlists". Shelf Awareness. 20 April 2022. Archived from the original on 24 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  27. ^ a b "Alabanza, Jawando win 2023 Jhalak Prizes". Books+Publishing. 29 May 2023. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  28. ^ a b "Awards: Plutarch, Jhalak Winners". Shelf Awareness. 26 May 2023. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  29. ^ a b c d e f "Jhalak Prize 2023 shortlists announced". Books+Publishing. 20 April 2023. Archived from the original on 1 June 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  30. ^ a b c d e f "The Prize: 2024 Shortlist". Jhalak Prize. Archived from the original on 20 April 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2024.
  31. ^ a b "Jhalak prizes 2024 winners announced". Books+Publishing. 3 June 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  32. ^ a b Creamer, Ella (4 June 2025). "British-Palestinian writer NS Nuseibeh wins Jhalak prose prize for writers of colour". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  33. ^ a b "The Prize - Children's & YA". Jhalak Prize. Archived from the original on 8 December 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  34. ^ Wood, Heloise (4 June 2025). "Mimi Khalvati, NS Nuseibeh and Nathanael Lessore win the 2025 Jhalak Prizes". The Bookseller. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jhalak_Prize