Black Writers' Guild launches Mary Prince Memorial Award

The Black Writers’ Guild will provide financial support for writers of African and African-Caribbean heritage living in Britain during the cost of living crisis.

The Mary Prince Memorial Award is open to writers over 35 years old, especially those with caring responsibilities who require extra financial support to complete a literary work.  

The award is open to writers who are agented and unagented. Writers with book deals are also eligible to apply if their book deal is worth less than £10,000.

Nels Abbey from the Black Writers’ Guild said: "There is a broader problem in the media with Black people being made invisible once they pass 40 years old. In the eyes of white gatekeepers, it feels like we are seen as perennial adolescents when good writing matures with age and experience." 

Symeon Brown, who is convening the award, said: "These grants aim to help by any means necessary, whether by allowing writers to take time off work, pay for childcare, afford a writing retreat, or buy a new laptop to work from." 

Members of the guild will be prioritised. The volunteer-run organisation is funded by membership fees and donations from Black writers and the major publishers. The award is named after Mary Prince, who was born into enslavement in Bermuda but became one of the first Black women to be published in Britain. 

This year’s Black Writers’ Conference, where the award was launched, saw over 200 of Britain’s leading Black writers, including Reni Eddo-Lodge, Bernardine Evaristo and Bolu Babalola, gathered to consider the challenges facing Black authors in British publishing.