Russell wins the Moore Prize for human rights writing

Rosalind Russell has won the Moore Prize for her narrative non-fiction work The End of Where We Begin (Impress Books). 

The £1,000 annual literary prize awarded by the Christopher G Moore Foundation honours excellence in human rights writing. The judging panel for this year, the fifth iteration of the prize, included chair Adrienne Loftus Parkins, Debbie Stothard and Minh Bui Jones.

The End of Where We Begin was described as "a book full of heart" by the judges. "The 2021 jury unanimously agreed that The End of Where We Begin met the criteria of the prize with extraordinary clarity, compassion and impact,” organisers said. 

"Russell created a compelling portrait of three diverse individuals who escape South Sudan as civil war erupts. She exposes their loss of family, home and livelihood and their endless struggles to survive and live productive lives despite attack, injury, exile and trauma — made all the more difficult by the pandemic." 

"The End of Where We Begin brings into focus a major human rights crisis that is often overlooked, and engages our hearts with vivid and moving stories of characters whose undaunted will prevails against overwhelming odds." 

Russell is an international journalist and author who spent months in the Bidi Bidi refugee camp in northern Uganda where she met the three young people — Veronica, Daniel and Lilian — who feature in the book.

Impress Books was founded in 2004 and specialises in discovering new voices in crime, historical and literary fiction.