While we normally concentrate on film here at BGPS, sometimes we like to dabble in other areas of LGBT-themed culture, and that includes books.
As a results we thought we’d let you know that the longlist for the Polari First Book Prize was announced last week at the Polari Literary Salon at the Southbank Centre. The Prize received twice as many submissions as last year, which is reflected in an exciting longlist of twelve titles, increased from ten.
The Polari First Book Prize, is for a first book which explores the LGBT experience and is open to any work of poetry, prose, fiction or non-fiction published in the UK in English within the 12 months of the deadline for submissions (this year Feb 1, 2013). Self-published works in both print and digital formats are eligible for submission. The winner will be presented with a cheque for £1,000, courtesy of the Société General UK LGBT Network.
This year, for the first time, the shortlisted books will be displayed at major WH Smiths Travel outlets across the UK.
The winner will be announced on 8 October 2014 in the Purcell Room at the London Literature Festival.
The Polari First Book Prize Longlist:
I Am Nobody’s Nigger by Dean Atta (Westbourne Press)
Stephen Dearsley’s Summer of Love by Colin Bell (Ward Wood Publishing)
The Girl with The Treasure Chest by VA Fearon (VIllage Books)
The Palace of Curiosities by Rosie Garland (Harper Collins)
The Falling Sky by Pippa Goldschmidt (Freight Books)
Petite Mort by Beatrice Hitchman (Serpent’s Tail)
Hainault via Newbury Park and Other Broken Tracks by Keith Jarrett (self-published)
The Birds That Never Flew by Margot McCuaig (ThunderPoint Publishing)
Fairytales for Lost Children by Diriye Osman (Team Angelica)
God’s Other Children – A London Memoir by Vernal W. Scott (self-published)
The Rubbish Lesbian by Sarah Westwood (Mimwood Press)
Out in the Army by James Wharton (Biteback Publishing)
Leave a Reply (if comment does not appear immediately, it may have been held for moderation)