Brooks takes 2023 Jericho Prize

Antoinette Brooks has been named the winner of the £1,500 Jericho Prize 2022/23 amid a “significant increase in entries”. 

The award for unpublished and self-published Black British writers was announced at an online ceremony on Tuesday (27th June). Brooks, an illustrator and author of three self-published picture books, won the award for Best Picture Book manuscript for children aged three and over — the only category judged this year.  

Founded by former teacher and educational book editor Fabia Turner, the competition aims to find and showcase new British writers of African or Caribbean descent. 

As part of her prize, Brooks will receive a publishing contract with an author advance of £1,500 plus mentoring from Scholastic UK, a year’s membership to the Society of Authors (SoA) and the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI).  

First runners-up were Paula Sampson-Lawrence and Siobhan Graham, who will be mentored by publishing professionals Anna McQuinn and Ken Wilson-Max from inclusive publisher Alanna Max and Natascha Biebow from Blue Elephant Storyshaping. The other two finalists, Sebrina O’Connor and Krystal S Lowe, will each receive detailed script feedback plus a one-to-one with children’s author and editor Naomi Jones. 

The judges included Caroline Carpenter, children’s editor and deputy features editor at The Bookseller, Stella Hine, librarian and former Yoto Carnegie and Kate Greenaway judge, along with Simone Taylor, assistant editor for illustrated books at Scholastic UK. 

The panel assessed stories written by five finalists, during an online meeting held earlier this month. The final phases of judging were carried out anonymously. 

Brooks said: “I am overwhelmed and thrilled to have won with Friday Night Cake. Baking with my mum was always such a special time, something I loved so much. It became our tradition and gave me a connection to my Caribbean heritage. Baking was such a natural time to share stories of our history. I would like to thank the judges at the Jericho Prize, family and friends who have supported me, the London SCBWI team and my tutors at City Lit. And I’m so excited to start this wonderful opportunity with Scholastic too.” 

Turner said: “We are extremely proud of all the finalists and are ecstatic for our talented winner Antoinette. I know that, aside from her book deal, she will be well supported and nurtured by the Scholastic UK Illustrated Books team, producing incredible work. Author mentoring was an important aspect of Scholastic UK’s commitment to us, and we’re so excited to see their author-publisher partnership blossom. Antoinette’s other prizes, particularly the memberships with the SOA and SCBWI, mean she will be able to access vital information to make fully informed choices as she kickstarts her professional career – something all new writers need to navigate this highly competitive and, at times, opaque industry. This year, we saw a significant increase in entries, which proves Black writers are interested in writing for audiences younger than the age of eight. I feel the Jericho Prize is playing a huge role in showing the Black community that writing for this age group, in particular picture books, is a serious craft and career path that can be for them.” 

She added: “Now into our third year, writers realise that we are a bona fide, non-profit outfit entirely focused on championing and supporting them to reach their goals, whatever they might be. It takes a lot of unseen hard work to run this project, with a tiny but amazing team and, hopefully, with the support of future sponsors/collaborators, we can continue in that vein. Exciting times lie ahead.”  

Fiz Osborne, publisher for picture books at Scholastic UK, said: “We’re delighted to have supported the Jericho Prize this year. It’s a fantastic door opener to the world of publishing and we really look forward to working with Antoinette and seeing her talent and vision blossom.”