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Zmith and Taylor win Polari Prizes for ‘ground-breaking’ works described as ‘battle cries’
Award-winning writer Adam Zmith has won the Polari First Book Prize for his “keenly-researched history of poppers and their role in queer life”, Deep Sniff (Repeater Books), and Joelle Taylor has won the overall Polari Prize for non-debut talent for her poetry collection C+nto & Othered Poems (The Westbourne Press/Saqi Books).
In a ceremony held at the British Library, the winner of the inaugural Polari Children’s and YA Prize was also unveiled as Nen and the Lonely Fisherman (Owlet Press) by Ian Eagleton and James Mayhew, praised for being “important and radical”.
Judges for the First Book Prize were author Rachel Holmes, poets Keith Jarrett and Sophia Blackwell and 2021 prize- winner Mohsin Zaidi, who won for his memoir A Dutiful Boy (Vintage). The winner received a cheque for £1,000 from prize sponsors FMcM Associates.
The judging panel for the Polari Prize includes author V G Lee, literary critic Suzi Feay, Chris Gribble of the National Centre for Writing and 2021 prize-winner Diana Souhami, who won for No Modernism Without Lesbians (Head of Zeus). The winner received a cheque for £2,000 from prize sponsor D H H Literary Agency.
Both prize panels were chaired by founder, journalist and author Paul Burston, who said of Zmith and Taylor’s’ books: “Both pay tribute to vital parts of LGBTQ+ cultural history which are all too often overlooked. These are books as battle cries, as triumphs over adversity, as shamelessly gay gossip and the pursuit of pleasure in spite of all the heartaches of the past. They are everything the Polari Prizes stand for.”
Souhami described Taylor as having “a Midas touch with words”, saying of the collection, which reflects on the female body as a political space and explores sexuality: “C+nto will open eyes, hearts and minds. Here is poetry that defends our right to walk without fear, wear what we choose, be who we uniquely are. A clear Polari Prize winner.”
Burston said of Zmith’s book: “The judges all agreed that this was a witty, well-researched and ground-breaking book which honours our queer past while also looking to the future.”
Jodie Lancet-Grant, author and chair of the judges for the Polari Children’s & YA Prize, said: “We are delighted that Nen and the Lonely Fisherman has won the inaugural children’s and YA category of the Polari Prize. The judges agreed that this book does something important and radical by centring a queer love story in a picture book for young children. The story is innovative and moving, and the artwork truly stunning. Congratulations to Ian Eagleton and James Mayhew.”
