Non-fiction triumphs at Polari Awards as Mohsin Zaidi and Diana Souhami named 2021 winners
Criminal Barrister Mohsin Zaidi wins the Polari First Book Prize for his coming-of-age memoir A Dutiful Boy: A Memoir of a gay Muslim’s journey to acceptance
Award-winning writer Diana Souhami wins the overall Polari Prize for her latest foray in biography, No Modernism Without Lesbians
Mohsin Zaidi and Diana Souhami have tonight been announced as the winners of the 2021 Polari Prizes, the UK’s only awards celebrating literature that explores the LGBTQ+ experience. Mohsin Zaidi becomes the 11th winner of the Polari First Book Prize for his memoir A Dutiful Boy (Square Peg), which charts his journey growing up in a devout shia Muslim community within a poor pocket of east London. Diana Souhami scooped the overall Polari Prize for non-debut talent for her biography No Modernism without Lesbians (Head of Zeus) about a singular group of women who fostered the birth of the Modernist movement. The winners were announced in a ceremony held at the Southbank Centre at the London Literature Festival.
A Guardian, New Statesman and GQ Book of the Year, Zaidi’s revelatory memoir is a moving and ultimately uplifting account of his experiences as a young boy in denial about his sexuality. Becoming the first person from his school to attend Oxford University, new experiences and encounters lead him on a path to self discovery, opening the door to live every part of his identity.
Rachel Holmes, judge for the 2021 Polari First Book Prize, said of the book: ‘In these days of deliberately-stoked culture wars Mohsin Zaidi deftly engages us with the harsh, hilarious and inherently human realities of multiple identity. With painful honesty, he shows how no community of class, race, faith or queerness is immune from suspicion and occasional hatred of otherness, nor mercifully from love, laughter and acceptance.’
No Modernism Without Lesbians by renowned biographer Diana Souhami, is a bold, fresh new look at the early twentieth century cultural canon through the lens of four lesbians: Sylvia Beach, Bryher, Natalie Barney, and Gertrude Stein. A trailblazing publisher, a patron of artists, a society hostess, and a ground-breaking writer, their lives and work became central to fostering the Modernist movement in interwar Paris.
Praising the winner, judge and CEO of the National Centre for Writing, Chris Gribble described the book as ‘richly researched, entertaining and hugely enjoyable’ offering ‘insight into the lives, passions and legacies of a group of outstanding women who together helped change the course of their culture. Souhami is a brilliant guide and this book a celebration, corrective and fillip all in one.’
Judges for the First Book Prize are Amrou Al-Kadhi, who won in 2020 for Life as a Unicorn: A Journey from Shame to Pride and Everything in Between, alongside Rachel Holmes and Keith Jarrett. The winner receives a cheque for £1,000 from prize sponsors FMcM Associates.
Judges for the Polari Prize are 2020 prize winner Kate Davies, who won the award for her novel In at the Deep End, alongside Suzi Feay, Chris Gribble, and VG Lee. The winner receives a cheque for £2,000 from prize sponsors D H H Literary Agency.
Both prize panels are chaired by founder, journalist and author Paul Burston.
Notes to Editors
About the Polari First Book Prize
The Polari First Book Prize was launched in 2011 and previous winners include Angela Chadwick, Fiona Mozley, Saleem Haddad, Paul McVeigh, Kirsty Logan, Diriye Osman, John McCullough, Mari Hannah, James Maker and Amrou Al-Kadhi. The Polari First Book Prize is sponsored by leading literary PR consultancy, FMcM Associates. The winner will receive a cheque for £1,000.
About the Polari Prize
The Polari Prize was established in 2019 and is awarded to an overall Book of the Year. It is open to writers at any stage of their career (except debuts). It’s inaugural winner was Andrew McMillan, who won the award in 2019 for his intimate poetry collection Playtime. The 2020 winner was Kate Davies for her frank and funny novel In at the Deep End. The Polari Prize is sponsored by D H H Literacy Agency. The winner will receive a cheque for £2,000.
About Polari Literary Salon
Polari Literary Salon began in 2007 in the upstairs room of a bar in Soho. Events are now held monthly at the Southbank Centre and regularly sell out. The salon also tours regularly, funded by Arts Council England. In 2013, Polari was named ‘LGBT Cultural Event of the Year ’ in the Co-op Respect Loved By You Awards. In 2016, the British Council named Polari founder Paul Burston as one of “33 visionary people who are promoting freedom, equality, and LGBT rights around the world.”
About Paul Burston
Paul Burston is an author and founder of the Polari Literary Salon and Polari Prizes. A founding editor of Attitude magazine, he has written for many publications including the Guardian, Time Out, The Times and The Sunday Times. He is the author of several non-fiction books, the editor of two short story collections and the author of six novels, including Lovers and Losers, which was shortlisted for the Stonewall Award. In March 2016, he was featured in the British Council’s #FiveFilms4Freedom Global List 2016, celebrating “33 visionary people who are promoting freedom, equality and LGBT rights around the world.” His latest novel is The Closer You Get, published in 2019 as part of a twobook deal with Orenda Books. He has since written a memoir and is working on his seventh novel.