The shortlist for the inaugural Polari First Book Prize, named after ’London’s peerless gay literary salon’ Polari, has just been announced. This is the 1st year of the prize, which celebrates poetry, prose, fiction or non-fiction exploring the queer experience. The judging panel includes Paul Burston, Suzi Feay (associate editor at The Financial Times), Rachel Holmes (Southbank Centre’s Head of Literature and Spoken Word), Fiona McMorrough (Founder and CEO of FMcM Associates) and Joe Storey-Scott (books buyer at Prowler) .Rachel Holmes said: ‘This is a very strong list of robustly diverse voices and genres’.
The shortlisted publications are:
Love, Hope & High Heels – Clare Campbell
Autofellatio – James Maker
Homo Jihad – Timothy Graves
Julian Corkle is a Filthy Liar – DJ Connell
London Triptych – Jonathan Kemp
The winner will be announced at the Polari 4th Birthday on November 21 at Southbank Centre.
