Diana Evans has been awarded the Jhalak Prose Prize for her nonfiction work, I Want to Talk to You, which delves into themes including Jean Rhys, Toni Morrison, and reflections on the COVID-19 lockdowns and the British monarchy.
The announcement was made during a reception on Wednesday evening, where the Guardian’s reviewer, Alex Clark, praised the book as a source of “pleasure and invigoration.” Evans is the tenth recipient of this esteemed award.
The Jhalak Prize for children’s and young adult literature was given to Fidan Meikle for My Name is Samim, which has been characterized by Guardian critic Imogen Russell Williams as a narrative centered on “resilience, adaptability, and hope.” The poetry award went to Maggie Harris for her collection, I Sing to the Greenhearts.
Sunny Singh, the prize director, remarked that these works are “urgent and necessary now and shall endure far into the future.” Each award is available to authors of color residing in the UK and Ireland and comes with a monetary prize of £1,000.
The prose prize was awarded unanimously to I Want to Talk to You, as noted by judge and writer Ami Rao. Another judge, Catherine Johnson, commented on the book’s ability to guide readers through various discussions surrounding creativity, motherhood, grief, and music, attributing this to Evans’ confident writing style.
In addition to her nonfiction work, Evans has authored four novels: 26a, The Wonder, Ordinary People, and A House for Alice.
This year’s prose award also featured shortlisted titles such as Act Normal by Pete Kalu, Call Me Ishmaelle by Xiaolu Guo, Foreign Fruit by Katie Goh, Hail Mary by Funmi Fetto, and The South by Tash Aw.
My Name is Samim, the winner in the children’s and young adult category, tells the story of a 13-year-old Afghan refugee who arrives in the UK. Judge Lanisha Butterfield emphasized the book’s importance, stating that it “is vital and deserves to be on school curriculums nationwide.”
In her award-winning poetry collection, I Sing to the Greenhearts, Harris skillfully employs the greenheart tree from her native Guyana as a metaphor, exploring themes of home while fluidly navigating between Patois and English. Judge Kadija Sesay noted that she “weaves stories of colonial past and Black British present.”
Among the past recipients of the Jhalak Prize are prominent authors such as Reni Eddo-Lodge, Guy Gunaratne, and Travis Alabanza.
