Jhalak Prize Explained

Jhalak Prize
Awarded For:Book of the year by a writer of colour
Reward:£1,000
Country:United Kingdom

The Jhalak Prize for Book of the Year by a Writer of Colour is an annual literary prize awarded to British or British-resident BAME writers. £1,000 is awarded to the sole winner.

The Jhalak Prize was launched in 2016 and was created by writers Sunny Singh, Nikesh Shukla, and Media Diversified. It is supported by The Authors’ Club and by The Jhalak Foundation,[1] owned by Professor Singh's family. The prize and foundation are named after Professor Singh's grandmother.[2] It is the second literary prize in the UK to only accept entries by writers of colour, following the SI Leeds Literary Prize for BAME women writers, which was first awarded in 2012. In 2016, the Equality and Human Rights Commission praised: "this award is the type of action which the Commission supports and recommends."[3] [4] In 2017 the comedian Shappi Khorsandi withdrew her novel from the longlist.[5] Consequentially, the prize was reported to the Equality and Human Rights Commission.[6] The complaint was not upheld.

In 2020, a sister award, the Jhalak Children’s & YA Prize, was founded.[7]

Jhalak Prize recipients

Jhalak Prize winners and shortlists!Year!Author!Title!Publisher!Result!Ref.
2017Winner[8] [9]
Shortlist[10]
Harvill SeckerShortlist
Speak GigantularJacaranda BooksShortlist
Black and British: A Forgotten HistoryMacmillan PublishersShortlist
Another Day In The Death Of AmericaFaberShortlist
2018Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About RaceWinner[11] [12]
FaberShortlist[13]
KumukandaChatto & WindusShortlist
Once Upon a Time in the EastChatto & WindusShortlist
When I Hit You: Or, A Portrait of the Writer as a Young WifeAtlantic BooksShortlist
Shortlist
2019In Our Mad and Furious CityWinner[14] [15]
AkalaNatives: Race and Class in the Ruins of the EmpireTwo RoadsShortlist[16]
Built: The Hidden Stories Behind Our StructuresBloomsburyShortlist
Penned in the MarginsShortlist
HappinessBloomsburyShortlist
Orion Children's BooksShortlist
2020Afropean: Notes From Black EuropeWinner[17] [18]
Hodder Children'sShortlist[19]
RememberedDialogue BooksShortlist
QueenieOrionShortlist
FlècheFaberShortlist
SuncatcherBloomsburyShortlist
2021Winner[20] [21]
Antiemetic for HomesicknessChatto & WindusShortlist[22] [23]
InfernoBloomsburyShortlist
My Darling From the LionsPicadorShortlist
Are We Home YetJacaranda BooksShortlist
Rainbow MilkDialogue BooksShortlist
2022Winner[24]
ConsumedSceptreShortlist[25] [26]
Somebody Loves YouAnd Other StoriesShortlist
Like a Tree, WalkingCarcenet PressShortlist
Keeping the HouseAnd Other StoriesShortlist
Things I Have WithheldCanongate BooksShortlist
2023None of the AboveWinner[27] [28]
When We Were BirdsHamish HamiltonShortlist[29]
TakeawayTrapezeShortlist
Dialogue BooksShortlist
I'm a FanRough Trade BooksShortlist
Hiding to NothingLiverpool University PressShortlist
2024Anansi's Gold: The man who swindled the world BloomsburyWinner[30]
Self-Portrait as OthelloCarcanetShortlist[31]
Twelve Words for MossPenguinShortlist
Fire RushVintageShortlist
PenguinShortlist
Boundary RoadEverything With WordsShortlist
  1. Web site: JHALAK FOUNDATION overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK . 2023-11-24 . find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk . en . 8 December 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231208222207/https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/12978910 . live .
  2. Web site: Culture . OxStu . 2020-05-30 . Sunny Singh talks about the turbulent first few years of the Jhalak prize . 2023-11-24 . The Oxford Student . en-GB . 19 November 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231119125325/https://www.oxfordstudent.com/2020/05/30/sunny-singh-talks-about-the-turbulent-first-few-years-of-the-jhalak-prize/ . live .
  3. Web site: Independent presses dominate Jhalak Prize longlist. Heloise. Wood. The Bookseller. en. 30 January 2018. 6 March 2018. 6 March 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180306202349/https://www.thebookseller.com/news/indie-dominant-jhalak-prize-unveiled-721521. live.
  4. Web site: Jhalak Prize. Media Diversified. 10 September 2018. en. 24 July 2019. 26 June 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190626051545/https://mediadiversified.org/about-us/jhalak-prize/. live.
  5. News: Cain . Sian . 2017-01-06 . Shappi Khorsandi withdraws book from Jhalak prize longlist . en-GB . The Guardian . 2023-11-24 . 0261-3077 . 12 November 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201112001636/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/jan/06/shappi-khorsandi-withdraws-book-from-jhalak-prize-longlist . live .
  6. Web site: 2020-06-05 . Jhalak Prize controversy . 2023-11-24 . State Sponsored Literature . en-GB . 24 November 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231124094503/https://statesponsoredliterature.com/jhalak-prize-controversy/ . live .
  7. Web site: About the Jhalak Prize. Jhalak Prize. 19 April 2024. 29 September 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230929093606/https://www.jhalakprize.com/about. live.
  8. Web site: Cain . Sian . 17 March 2017 . Caribbean crime thriller wins inaugural prize for only BAME writers . 6 March 2018 . en . . 6 March 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180306202424/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/mar/17/the-bone-readers-jacob-ross-caribbean-thriller-jhalak-prize . live .
  9. Web site: 2017-03-20 . Awards: Bancroft; Jhalak; Tony Ryan . 2023-06-10 . . 22 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230322130612/https://shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=2960 . live .
  10. Web site: 2017-02-07 . Awards: Jhalak Shortlist . 2023-06-10 . . 22 March 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230322135425/https://shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=2932 . live .
  11. News: Flood . Alison . 2018-03-15 . Reni Eddo-Lodge wins Jhalak prize for British writers of colour . en-GB . . 2023-06-10 . 0261-3077 . 16 March 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180316205128/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/mar/15/reni-eddo-lodge-wins-jhalak-prize-why-im-no-longer-talking-to-white-people-about-race . live .
  12. Web site: 2018-03-19 . Awards: Jhalak Winner; LBF International Excellence . 2023-06-10 . . 4 May 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230504110457/https://shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=3207 . live .
  13. Web site: 2018-02-21 . Awards: Tufts Poetry Winners; Jhalak Prize Shortlist . 2023-06-10 . . 25 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230225044242/https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=3189 . live .
  14. News: Taylor . Jack . 2019-05-01 . 'The London book of our lifetime': Guy Gunaratne wins Jhalak prize . . 2020-01-11 . 0261-3077 . 4 September 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190904132721/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/may/01/the-london-book-of-our-lifetime-guy-gunaratne-wins-jhalak-prize . live .
  15. Web site: 2019-05-03 . Awards: Wellcome Book; Jhalak; Prix Voltaire . 2023-06-10 . . 20 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230420100257/https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=3487 . live .
  16. Web site: 2019-04-09 . Awards: Rathbones Folio Finalists; Jhalak Shortlist . 2023-06-10 . . 7 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230207013546/https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=3469 . live .
  17. Web site: Cain . Sian . 26 May 2020 . Johny Pitts wins Jhalak prize for 'beautiful' history of black Europe . 26 May 2020 . en . . 26 May 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200526201704/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/may/26/johny-pitts-wins-jhalak-prize-for-beautiful-history-of-black-europe . live .
  18. Web site: 2020-05-29 . Awards: Jhalak Winner . 2023-06-10 . . 3 December 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221203200845/https://shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=3749#m48643 . live .
  19. Web site: 2020-04-16 . Awards: Jhalak Shortlist . 2023-06-10 . . 1 October 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221001075310/https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=3719 . live .
  20. News: Flood . Alison . 25 May 2021 . Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi and Patrice Lawrence win Jhalak prizes for writers of colour . . 2 June 2021 . 2 June 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210602112341/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/may/25/jennifer-nansubuga-makumbi-and-patrice-lawrence-win-jhalak-prizes-for-writers-of-colour . live .
  21. Web site: 2022-06-01 . Awards: Reading the West, Jhalak Winners . 2023-06-10 . . 7 February 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230207084717/https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=4244#m56481 . live .
  22. Web site: 2021-04-14 . Shortlist announced for 2021 Jhalak Prize for BAME writers . live . 2021-04-17 . . en-AU . 17 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210417034454/https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2021/04/14/185062/shortlist-announced-for-2021-jhalak-prize-for-bame-writers/ .
  23. Web site: 2021-04-15 . Awards: Whiting Winners; Jhalak and Sheikh Zayed Shortlists . 2023-06-10 . . 20 April 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230420162437/https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=3965 . live .
  24. Web site: Mechler . Anita . Merlene . Kate . 2022-06-02 . Sabba Khan Wins the 2022 Jhalak Prize . 2022-11-19 . . 19 November 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221119215527/https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/sabba-khan-wins-the-2022-jhalak-prize-bookpulse . live .
  25. Web site: 2022-04-20 . Jhalak Prize 2022 shortlists announced . 2022-04-28 . . en-AU . 28 April 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220428235604/https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2022/04/20/213160/shortlist-announced-for-2022-jhalak-prize-for-bame-writers/ . live .
  26. Web site: 2022-04-20 . Awards: Oates Winner; Jhalak Shortlists . 2023-06-10 . . 24 June 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220624113219/https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=4215#m56028 . live .
  27. Web site: 2023-05-29 . Alabanza, Jawando win 2023 Jhalak Prizes . 2023-06-01 . . 1 June 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230601042117/https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2023/05/29/231559/alabanza-jawando-win-2023-jhalak-prizes/ . live .
  28. Web site: 2023-05-26 . Awards: Plutarch, Jhalak Winners . 2023-06-10 . . 4 June 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230604231038/https://www.shelf-awareness.com/issue.html?issue=4489 . live .
  29. Web site: 2023-04-20 . Jhalak Prize 2023 shortlists announced . 2023-06-01 . . 1 June 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230601004406/https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2023/04/20/229853/jhalak-prize-2023-shortlists-announced/ . live .
  30. Web site: 2024-06-03 . Jhalak prizes 2024 winners announced . 2024-06-04 . Books+Publishing.
  31. Web site: The Prize: 2024 Shortlist . Jhalak Prize . 20 April 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240420221043/https://www.jhalakprize.com/the-prize . 20 April 2024 . en . live.

Children's and Young Adult Prize recipients

Jhalak Children's and Young Adult Prize winners and shortlists!Year!Author!Title!Publisher!Result!Ref.
2021Eight Pieces of SilvaWinner
and Avril FilomenoKane SeriesShortlist
When Life Gives You Mangoes Pushkin Children’sShortlist
And the Stars Were Burning BrightlySimon & SchusterShortlist
Queen of Freedom Pushkin Children’sShortlist
Andersen PressShortlist
2022Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths Piccadilly PressWinner
Ace of Spades Usborne PublishingShortlist
and Dapo AdeolaWe’re Going to Find the MonsterPuffin BooksShortlist
, illus by Ngadi SmartFaberShortlist
Everything With WordsShortlist
PenguinShortlist
2023When our Worlds CollidedSimon & SchusterWinner
In Our HandsTateShortlist
, illus by Ana LateseMia and the Lightcasters FaberShortlist
Ellie Pillai Is BrownFaberShortlist
Rebel SkiesWalker BooksShortlist
, illus. by Ruchi MhasaneDadaji’s Paintbrush Andersen PressShortlist
2024Safiyyah's WarAndersen PressWinner
Geoffrey Gets The JittersPenguin Random HouseShortlist[32]
How to Die FamousSimon & SchusterShortlist
Steady for ThisHot Key BooksShortlist
To the Other SideHachette Children'sShortlist
Wild SongDavid FicklingShortlist

External links

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Jhalak Prize".

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