2024 Polari Prize Shortlists Disclosed

The shortlists for the 2024 Polari Prizes for LGBTQ+ literature were revealed in the UK on Monday, September 30, 2024.

The shortlisted books are as follows:

Book prize (£2000, A$3867)

• Blue Hunger (Viola Di Grado, trans by Jamie Richards, Scribe)
• Killing Jericho (William Hussey, Bonnier)
• The Fitful Sleep of Immigrants (Orlando Ortega-Medina, Bywater Books)
• The Gallopers (Jon Ransom, Muswell Press)
• Forty Lies (David Shenton, Knockabout Comics)
• Hard Drive (Paul Stephenson, Carcanet Press)

First book prize (£1000, A$1933)

• Transitional: In One Way or Another, We All Transition (Munroe Bergdorf, Bloomsbury Tonic)
• Neon Roses (Rachel Dawson, John Murray)
• Bellies (Nicola Dinan, Penguin)
• Sunburn (Chloe Michelle Howarth, Verve Books)
• Local Fires (Joshua Jones, Parthian Books)
• Greekling (Kostya Tsolakis, Nine Arches Press)

Children’s and YA prize (£1000, A$1933)

• Away with Words (Sophie Cameron, Little Tiger)
• Gwen and Art Are Not in Love (Lex Croucher, Bloomsbury YA)
• Bitterthorn (Kat Dunn, Andersen Press)
• The Fights That Make Us (Sarah Hagger-Holt, Usborne)
• Out of the Blue (Robert Tregoning, illus by Stef Murphy, Bloomsbury).

The founder of the Polari Prizes, Paul Burston, stated: "This year’s shortlists celebrate the diversity and richness of LGBTQ literary talent in the UK and Ireland today. These are books that explore sexuality, gender, history, and politics with humor, passion, and insight. They remind us of the power of queer storytelling at a time when some would see our books and stories banned. Read them with pride."

The winners of the 2024 Polari Prizes will be revealed on November 29 in London. Last year’s Polari Prize winners were Julia Armfield for "Our Wives Under the Sea" (Picador) and Jon Ransom for "The Whale Tattoo" (Muswell Press). In 2022, the inaugural biennial children’s and YA prize was awarded to Ian Eagleton and James Mayhew for "Nen and the Lonely Fisherman".

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