The Jhalak Prize today announces its shortlists in this, its tenth anniversary year, with awards across three categories: Children’s & Young Adult, Poetry and Prose.

The shortlists celebrate books by writers of colour in the UK and Ireland, marking a decade of the Jhalak Prize and showcasing the brilliance that the Prize seeks to champion.

The judges’ selections offer books to inspire, inform and entertain.

Previous winners include Reni Eddo-Lodge, Guy Gunaratne, Travis Alabanza, N.S. Nuseibeh, Mimi Khalvati and Nathanael Lessore, exemplifying the ways in which the Jhalak Prize celebrates the creativity, imagination and scholarly excellence of writers of colour in the United Kingdom and Ireland. 

Prize director, Sunny Singh commented:

"The 2026 shortlists exemplify the extraordinary quality of writing that the Jhalak Prize has worked hard to champion for the past decade. These lists go far beyond representation and instead are a glittering treasure trove of future classics. Here are books that excavate buried histories, push boundaries and lead us to brighter imagined and possible worlds. We cannot be prouder to be able to champion and celebrate such powerful literary works."

Jhalak Prose Prize Shortlist

Act Normal by Pete Kalu 

Call Me Ishmaelle by Xiaolu Guo

Foreign Fruit by Katie Goh

Hail Mary by Funmi Fetto 

I Want to Talk to You by Diana Evans 

The South by Tash Aw 

The Judges for the Jhalak Prose Prize 2026 include founding judge, Catherine Johnson, who has returned for the Prize’s 10th anniversary year and she is also joined by Jacob Ross, winner of the inaugural Jhalak Prize for his novel The Bone Readers and the writer, Ami Rao.

The judges commented:

Catherine Johnson: "This Jhalak shortlist holds up a mirror to reflect the depth and breadth of work published and submitted this year. It was harder than ever to distill these final few works when there was so much brilliance to choose from across fiction, essays, and memoir."

Ami Rao: "This year’s shortlist highlights the richness and diversity of diasporic voices, with each work offering unique exploration of identity, migration and belonging across borders and generations."

Jacob Ross: "Books on this year's shortlist are deeply informative as well as emotionally engaging. There is craft here; and there is freshness and innovation. Every book on this shortlist exposes us to meaningful ways of engaging with our world."

Jhalak Poetry Prize Shortlist

Foretokens by Sarah Howe

Holy Boys by Andres N. Ordorica 

I Sing to the Greenhearts by Maggie Harris 

My Dearest Friend by Lady Red Ego 

The New Carthaginians by Nick Makoha

Why I am not a Bus Driver by Ashley Hickson-Lovence 

The Judges for the Jhalak Poetry Prize 2026 are poets Romalyn Ante, Nikita Gill and Kadija (George) Sesay. They commented:

Romalyn Ante: "Judging the Jhalak Poetry Prize shortlist was an honour and a joy. It was rewarding to deeply engage with these books. They push boundaries, explore new voices and ideas, and exhibit the courage and vulnerability that make literature so vital."

Nikita Gill: "A shortlist full of future classics is rare, but this shortlist accomplishes precisely that rarity with aplomb. Each collection features powerful narratives, diverse stories, all told with beautifully crafted cadence."

Kadija (George) Sesay: "How can you shortlist the best from the best? These are stellar poets whose love and care shine through their words and pages. Big up to the publishers too, who have produced such beautiful books!"

What comes next?

The three Jhalak Prize awards celebrate writing by writers of colour living in the United Kingdom and Ireland and annually award £1,000 to three winners.

The Jhalak Poetry Prize is supported by the independent poetry publisher Ink Sweat & Tears.

Furthermore, two artists of colour are annually commissioned to create unique works of art that serve as trophies for the winners of the Jhalak Poetry Prize and Jhalak Prose Prize. A children’s book illustrator of colour is commissioned to create a unique work for the winner of the Jhalak Children’s & Young Adult Prize. The Jhalak Artists in Residence for 2026 are: Hoang Giang (Children’s & Young Adult), Malak Mattar (Poetry) and Munir Wakad (Prose). Find out more about the Residency and the previous artists here. 

The winners will be announced on 10th June.

To read more about the 2025 winners, visit the LoveReading feature here. And to see the full 2026 longlist, you can dive in here.

If you are interested in the Jhalak Prize for Children and Young People, visit the feature on our sister site LoveReading4Kids.

www.jhalakprize.com

Instagram: @jhalakprize

#jhalakprizeat10