Today I learned that my debut full-length collection, Patterflash, has been longlisted for the Polari First Book Prize 2024!
I have only just returned from an absolutely gorgeous time in Armagh, for the John Hewitt Summer School, and opened my emails late this morning to find out the good news.
I am honoured to be in the company of such stellar writers! This is an extremely competitive longlist, so to even place is fantastic news.
The full longlist for the First Book Prize category is:
Neon Roses by Rachel Dawson (John Murray) Local Fires by Joshua Jones (Parthian Books) Sunburn by Chloe Michelle (Verve Books) A Trans Man Walks into a Gay Bar by Harry Nicholas (JKP) Patterflash by Adam Lowe (Peepal Tree Press) Bellies by Nicola Dinan (Penguin) Greekling by Kostya Tsolakis (Nine Arches Press) Transitional: In One Way or Another, We All Transition by Munroe Bergdorf (Bloomsbury) Last Dance at the Discotheque for Deviants by Paul David Gould (Unbound) Rosewater by Liv Little (Dialogue)
The judges are author Rachel Holmes, author and writing coach Karen McLeod, author Jon Ransom (Polari Prize winner 2023), Co-chair of Spread The Word Simon Richardson and author Paul Burston (chair).
Judge Jon Ransom said, “This is an exciting and diverse longlist, representing the very best of LGBTQ+ writing today.”
The Polari Prize is the UK and Ireland’s only dedicated LGBTQ+ book prize, founded by author and activist Paul Burston. The Polari First Book Prize was launched to celebrate debut writers in 2011. The Polari Prize was launched in 2019 to celebrate writers at any stage of their career. Previous winners include Fiona Mozley, Saleem Haddad, Paul McVeigh, Kirsty Logan, Diriye Osman, John McCullough, Mari Hannah, James Maker, Angela Chadwick, Amrou Al-Kadhi, Mohsin Zaidi, Adam Zmith and Jon Ransom.











