2021 Polari Prizes Open Call For Submissions, Name Judges, And Confirm Continuation of Digital Events
Polari Prize 2021
Submissions Now Open
The Polari Salon—host to the UK’s only book prizes for emerging and established LGBTQ+ writers—has opened its call to publishers for this year’s awards. The Polari First Book Prize, which celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2020, is awarded annually to a debut that explores the LGBTQ+ experience, and has previously been won by writers including John McCullough, Kirsty Logan and Amrou Al-Kadhi. The Polari Prize awards an overall book of the year, excluding debuts, and previous winners include Andrew McMillan (Playtime) and Kate Davies (In At the Deep End).
Now well established within the literary calendar, the two Polari Prizes grew out of the Polari Salon, which was founded in a room above a Soho bar in 2007 by novelist and activist Paul Burston. From humble beginnings, the Salon has gone from strength to strength, drawing hundred-strong crowds to its residency at London’s Southbank Centre as well as its tours of the UK.
A 2020 tour to celebrate the prize’s ten year anniversary, funded by Arts Council England, was postponed due to COVID-19 but there are plans for its live events programme to resume later this year. The prize and salon have continued online during lockdown attracting a growing online audience.
Founder Paul Burston said: “The past year has been extemely challenging for everyone involved in live arts events. But moving online has also brought new possibilities. We were able to host events with previous prize winners and shortlisted writers now based in other parts of the world. We’ve also reached new audiences across the UK and beyond, with thousands viewing our YouTube channel and hundreds booking for our regular Polari Live Online events. Going forward, I see digital events as a vital component of Polari’s mission to develop new audiences and celebrate LGBTQ+ literary talent.”
Leading literary PR consultancy FMcM Associates will continue its sponsorship of the Polari First Book Prize, with winners receiving a cheque for £1,000.
This year the prize continues its tradition of having the winner of the previous year on each judging panel, with the remaining judges being made up of a distinguished group of authors and industry professionals.
For the Polari First Book Prize the 2021 panel is Amrou Al-Kadhi (2020 winner for the acclaimed memoir Life As A Unicorn), Angela Chadwick (2019 winner for dystopian thriller XX), Rachel Holmes and Keith Jarrett.
Now in its third year, The Polari Prize will continue to be sponsored by D H H Literary Agency, with the winner receiving a cheque for £2,000.
The judging panel includes Kate Davies (2020 winner for the comic novel In At The Deep End), who will join Suzi Feay, Chris Gribble, and VG Lee. Both prize panels will be chaired by founder, journalist and author Paul Burston.
Longlists will be announced on June 24, with a digital events programme planned for the spring and summer.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
Writers must be born or based in the UK and Ireland. The deadline for submissions is Monday April 26, 2021, but publishers should express their intent to submit by 12 April 2021.
All entries must be first in the United Kingdom or Ireland between February 2, 2020 and February 1, 2021, but may have been previously published outside the UK. 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 award has been covered in a wide range of publications including Metro, the Guardian, the i, Irish Independent, Press Association, Gay Times, Winq and BBC Radio, The London Magazine, Wasafiri and elsewhere.
The Polari First Book Prize was launched in 2011 and previous winners include Fiona Mozley, Saleem Haddad, Paul McVeigh, Kirsty Logan, Diriye Osman, John McCullough, Mari Hannah, James Maker, Angela Chadwick and Amrou Al-Kadhi.
The Polari Prize, founded in 2019, was awarded to Andrew McMillan in its inaugural year, and to Kate Davies in 2020.
For further details on the prize and tour, please visit https://www.polarisalon.com/
For all media enquires please contact Ashton Bainbridge or Robert Greer at FMcM Associates on ashtonb@fmcm.co.uk or robertg@fmcm.co.uk
