You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
Shafak, Sands and Nayeri unveiled as judges of inaugural Footnote x Counterpoints prize
Writers Elif Shafak, Philippe Sands, and Dina Nayeri have been unveiled as the judges of the inaugural Footnote x Counterpoints Writing Prize for writers from refugee or migrant backgrounds.
The £15,000 award, announced in June, includes an advance of £5,000 and a publication agreement with Footnote Press. The prize is developed in association with the Southbank Centre, and supported by the John Ellerman Foundation, Doughty Street Chambers, Spread the Word, Dartington Trust and The Bookseller.
The submission window closes on 1st October 2023, and a shortlist will be announced in February 2024, with a winner and two runners-up revealed by the judging panel in March 2024.
Anyone from a refugee or migrant background is eligible to submit an entry for the prize if they are resident in the United Kingdom or Ireland, whether they have previously been published or not. Both agented and unagented submissions are welcome. More info can be found here.
Footnote Press m.d. Vidisha Biswas said: “We are delighted to have such a stellar cast of judges join us to help identify the winners of the inaugural Footnote x Counterpoints Writing Prize.
“We established this prize, and indeed Footnote Press itself, to platform and amplify marginalised voices and bring them to new global audiences. The winning entries will have the strongest possible start, thanks to the early support and enthusiasm of our judging panel and our many partners and collaborators.”
Counterpoints Arts director Almir Koldzic said: “We are very excited to be working on the prize with such an inspiring panel of judges. We hope that with their support the prize will help us elevate fantastic new writings and voices from refugee and migrant backgrounds; and that over the coming years it will build into a rich body of work that will reach thousands of readers and book-lovers, shedding lights on some of the most pertinent and pressing topics of our times.”
Footnote Press launched last year in partnership with Bonnier Books UK as a mission-oriented publisher committed to driving social and narrative change.
