Polari First Book Prize Reveals 2013 Longlist

The longlist for the 2013 Polari First Book Prize and the new sponsor of the £1,000 award was revealed last night at the Polari Literary Salon at the Southbank Centre.


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 twelve 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 Polari First Book Prize is also pleased and proud to announce a new sponsor, Société Générale UK LGBT Network, who will be kindly donating £1,000 prize money to the winner of this year's prize. The media partner for the prize is Square Peg Media, publishers of g3 and OUT In The City magazines.


The shortlist of 5 books will be announced at the Polari Literary Salon on 11 September 2013.

The winner will be announced at Polari's Sixth Birthday in the Purcell Room on 13 November 2013.

The judges this year are:

• Paul Burston (Chair of Judges) - author, journalist and host of Polari
• Bidisha - writer, critic and broadcaster
• Suzi Feay -literary critic
• Rachel Holmes - author and former Head of Literature at the Southbank Centre
• VG Lee - author and comedian
• Joe Storey-Scott - books buyer

The Polari First Book Prize Longlist:

• The January Flower by Orla Broderick (Council House Publishing)
• Five To One by Chris Chalmers (Wink)
• Counting Eggs by Peter Daniels (Mulfran Press)
• Realisations by Andie Davidson (Bramley Press)
• The Governess by Rachael Eyre (self-published ebook)
• The Murder Wall by Mari Hannah (Pan Macmillan)
• Tony Hogan Bought Me An Icecream Float Before He Stole My Ma by Kerry Hudson (Chatto & Windus)
• The Sitar by Rebecca Idris (self-published ebook)
• Catching Bullets - Memoirs of a Gay Bond Fan by Mark O'Connell (Splendid Books)
• Readings from the Book of Exile by Pádraig Ó Tuama (Canterbury Press)
• The Tale of Raw Head & Bloody Bones by Jack Wolf (Chatto & Windus)

Paul Burston, Chair of the judges, said:
"The judges were impressed with the range and overall quality of submissions this year. There were also far more books by women than in previous years, which is reflected in the longlist. In the end, it was difficult to narrow the list down to ten books, which is why we have eleven – all of which deserve a place on the longlist. We would also like to extend our sincere thanks to Société Générale UK LGBT Network for their generous sponsorship. LGBT writing goes from strength to strength, as does The Polari First Book Prize."


Polari Literary Salon launched in 2007 in the upstairs room of a pub in Soho and is 'London's peerless gay literary salon' (Independent on Sunday). Now, Polari is happily housed at the Southbank Centre where monthly events showcase the best in established, new and up-and-coming LGBT literary talent and performance.