Joseph, Patel and Coelho longlisted for 2023 Jhalak Prizes 

Paterson Joseph, Sheena Patel and Joseph Coelho are among those longlisted for this year’s Jhalak Prizes. 

The Jhalak Prize and Jhalak Children’s & Young Adult Prize celebrate British or British-resident writers of colour, annually awarding £1,000 to each of the two winners, along with a unique work of art created by artists chosen for the annual Jhalak Art Residency. All shortlisted authors will also receive a one-year complimentary membership to the London Library, to which the winners receive a two-year membership.

Prize director Sunny Singh said: “This year’s longlists feature books about mourning and memorialisation, survival and resilience, and most of all, finding hope, courage and joy in the unlikeliest of places.”

Among the 12 "thrilling titles” vying for the Jhalak Prize are Joseph’s The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho (Dialogue), and Patel’s I’m a Fan (Rough Trade Books). Travis Alabanza’s None of the Above (Canongate), Mya-Rose Craig’s Birdgirl (Jonathan Cape), and Angela Hui’s Takeaway (Trapeze) are also in contention. Meanwhile, Coelho’s Creeping Beauty, illustrated by Freya Hartas (Walker Books), is up for the Children’s & Young Adult Prize along with Windrush Child by John Agard, illustrated by Sophie Bass (Walker Books), and Lucy Farfort’s In Our Hands (Tate). 

Alongside the range of writing, publishers of different sizes are represented, from indies such as Rough Trade Books and Canongate to the bigger publishing houses like Pan Macmillan and Simon & Schuster.

Singh added: "It’s the seventh year of the Jhalak Prize and although sometimes the challenges facing us seem insurmountable, there is also clear evidence of change and growth. Once again, I am struck by the quality and range of books submitted to us. These are testaments to the creativity, craft, imagination and most of all, literary excellence among writers of colour in Britain today."

Haleh Agar, Anthony Vahni Capildeo and Monisha Rajesh are the judges for the 2023 Jhalak Prize, while the Children’s & Young Adult Prize will be decided by authors Yaba Badoe, Maisie Chan and Irfan Master. 

Capildeo commented: "As parcel after parcel of Jhalak Prize books arrived at my home in Scotland, I was almost jumping with excitement...what a blaze of good thinking. In the longlist, there’s a startling ability to balance reflection in solitude with the messiness of life; authentic, bloody, loving.”

Chan said: "For me, the Jhalak longlist represents the very best of writing coming out of the UK by writers of colour. I was taken to far off fantastical places, I learnt new things, I laughed and cried. The craft that went into all of these books was astounding."

The partnership with National Book Tokens, launched in 2021, will continue this year. The aim to help increase awareness and support for the nominated titles among bookshops across the UK and Ireland. Independent bookshops will be highlighting the prize titles with curated displays, podcasts, reviews and events.

The 2022 Jhalak Prize was won by Sabba Khan for her graphic novel The Roles We Play (Myriad). The Jhalak Children’s & Young Adult Prize was won by Maisie Chan for her debut Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths (Piccadilly Press).

The shortlist for both awards will be announced on 18th April 2023, and the winners will be announced on 25th May 2023 in partnership with the British Library.

The longlists in full

Jhalak Prize:

• None of the Above, Travis Alabanza (Canongate)
• Birdgirl, Mya-Rose Craig (Jonathan Cape)
• Takeaway, Angela Hui (Trapeze)
• The Attic Child, Lola Jaye (Pan Books)
• The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho, Paterson Joseph (Dialogue)
• When We Were Birds, Ayanna Lloyd Banwo (Hamish Hamilton)
• Here Again Now, Okechukwu Nzelu (Dialogue)
• Losing the Plot, Derek Owusu (Canongate)
• The Room Between Us, Denise Saul (Liverpool University Press)
• I’m a Fan, Sheena Patel (Rough Trade Books)
• Hiding to Nothing, Anita Pati (Liverpool University Press)
• Another Way to Split Water, Alycia Pirmohamed (Polygon Books)

Jhalak Children’s & Young Adult Prize:

• John Agard’s Windrush Child, John Agard, ill. Sophie Bass (Walker Books)
• Creeping Beauty, Joseph Coelho, ill. Freya Hartas (Walker Books)
• In Our Hands, Lucy Farfort (Tate)
• The Are the Words, Nikita Gill (Macmillan Children’s)
• When Our Worlds Collided, Danielle Jawando (Simon & Schuster)
• Needle, Patrice Lawrence (Barrington Stoke)
• Mia and the Lightcasters, Janelle McCurdy, ill. Ana Latese (Faber)
• Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun Tolá Okogwu (Simon & Schuster)
• Ellie Pillai is Brown, Christine Pillainayagam (Faber)
• The Haunting of Tyrese Walker, J.P. Rose (Andersen)
• Rebel Skies, Ann Sei Lin (Walker)
• Dadaji’s Paintbrush , Rashmi Sirdeshpande, ill. Ruchi Mhasane (Andersen)