Margolyes and Taylor shortlisted for Polari Prizes

Miriam Margolyes and Joelle Taylor are among those shortlisted for Polari Prizes this year. 

The awards celebrate LGBTQ+ literature, this year recognising memoir, fiction and poetry from a mixture of small presses and larger publishers. 

Paul Burston, Polari Salon founder and chair of judges, said: “This year’s shortlists are our strongest yet, a reflection on the enormous rise in submissions and the quality and diversity of books entered this year. There are many genres represented—poetry and prose, fiction and non-fiction. Each book speaks to the ethos of the prize, exploring aspects of the LGBTQ+ experience past or present. Each book is of the highest quality. Deciding on the winners is going to be a tough call.” 

The Polari First Book Prize shortlist includes Sunday Times bestseller Margolyes’ memoir This Much is True (John Murray) as well as an exploration of lesbian and bisexual culture from Daisy Jones, All the Things She Said (Coronet) and Adam Zmith’s keenly reseached history of poppers and their role in queer life, Deep Sniff (Repeater Books). In fiction and verse, the shortlist recognises These Great Athenians by Valentine Carter (Twenty Seven), stories of women in Greek mythology retold in playful verse; and Lessons in Love and Other Crimes by Elizabeth Chakrabarty (The Indigo Press), which tells the story of a young lecturer who finds herself the victim of an insidious, sustained race-hate crime.  

Sophia Blackwell, judge for the Polari First Book Prize, who announced the shortlists at a special Polari on Sea event in Hastings on 1st September, said: “The shortlist for the Polari First Book Prize is everything we would want it to be—urgent, daring and unafraid to tackle big questions, while also showcasing books that focus on what it means to live an enjoyable and meaningful life. I am particularly delighted by the mix of ages on display—a reminder that it’s never too late!—and the variety in the imprints, from big publishers to indie presses.” 

The Polari Prize shortlist, which celebrates an overall Book of the Year, excluding debuts, includes C+nto and Othered Poems by Joelle Taylor (Saqi Books/The Westbourne Press), a biography of Valentine Ackland by Frances Bingham (Handheld Press), and Golnoosh Nour, who is shortlisted for the second year in a row, this time for Rocksong (Verve Poetry Press). Fiction is also recognised in Beth Lewis’ thriller about one woman’s journey in fleeing an abusive relationship and confronting the secrets of her past, The Origins of Iris (Hodder & Stoughton), and Neil Bartlett’s cycle of stories exploring hope in the strangest of places, Address Book (Inkandescent). 

Chris Gribble, chief executive for the National Centre for Writing and judge of the Polari Prize, said: “This year’s Polari Prize entries showed yet again what a vibrant, diverse and exciting range of voices we have in the LGBTQ+ community. As well as more entries than ever before, the quality has been deeply impressive and the shortlisting tougher than we imagined. Novels, poetry and creative non-fiction are all represented on this year’s shortlist in a set of books that blends the urgency of contemporary LGBTQ+ experience with a critical and revelatory view of our own shared pasts. We can’t wait to gather to find the overall winner.” 

Last year Mohsin Zaidi won the First Book Prize for his coming-of-age memoir A Dutiful Boy: A Memoir (Square Peg), while the overall Book of the Year was awarded to Diana Souhami for No Modernism Without Lesbians (Head of Zeus). 

To mark the salon’s 15th birthday and the 11th anniversary of the Polari Prize, it will move to its new home at the British Library in 2022, beginning with a shortlist showcase event on 15th September.  

Tickets and further information are available here. The Polari Children’s and YA Prize shortlist will be announced on 10th September at The Book Nook, Hove.