Audible adds £25k audiobook deal to Joffe Books Prize pot

Audible will fund a £25,000 audiobook deal for the winner of the Joffe Books Prize for the next three years.

The prize was launched last year by independent publisher Joffe Books “as a direct response to the paucity of diverse voices being published in crime fiction”. 

It invites submissions from unagented authors from Black, Asian, indigenous and minority ethnic backgrounds, with the winner of the prize receiving a two-book publishing deal with Joffe Books and a £1,000 cash prize.

Now, they will also receive a £25,000 audiobook offer from Audible, which has extended its deal to include Northumberland-based debut novelist Christie J Newport who won the prize last year. The winner will additionally receive an editorial consultation with one of the judges and a two-year membership to the Society of Authors.

The second year of the Joffe Books Prize launched on 1st May, and in celebration of the new partnership with Audible the submission period has been extended to midnight on 31st October. 

This year, the judging panel includes Oyinkan Braithwaite, award-winning author of My Sister, the Serial Killer (Atlantic Books), and Ella Diamond Kahn, co-founder and partner of the Diamond Kahn & Woods Literary Agency.

Emma Grundy Haigh, editorial director at Joffe Books, said: “I am absolutely thrilled by Audible’s commitment to not just our prize, but to amplifying underrepresented voices in a very real way.

“Their involvement is utterly game changing — it promises to make this one of the most significant crime fiction prizes in the UK. Audible’s enthusiasm and advocacy has been evident right from the start. It’s been a pleasure to work with them so far, and I can’t wait to see what we can achieve.”

Aurelie de Troyer, senior vice-president of international English content at Audible, also commented: “Audible is delighted to be able to offer the winner of the Joffe Books Prize this additional opportunity. 

“We are passionate believers in the power of storytelling and want those stories to come from the widest possible range of people. We hope that our support will help set the winner on the path to a sustainable long-term writing career and look forward to giving them a well-deserved platform in audio.”