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Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize

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Wasafiri is a quarterly British literary magazine covering international contemporary writing. Founded in 1984, the magazine derives its name from a Swahili word meaning "travellers" that is etymologically linked with the Arabic word " safari ". The magazine holds that many of those who created the literatures in which it is particularly interested "...have all in some sense been cultural travellers either through migration, transportation or else, in the more metaphorical sense of seeking an imagined cultural 'home'." Funded by the Arts Council England , Wasafiri is "a journal of post-colonial literature that pays attention to the wealth of Black and diasporic writers worldwide. It is Britain's only international magazine for Black British , African , Asian and Caribbean literatures."

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19-530: The Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize (originally known as the Wasafiri New Writing Prize ) is an annual award open to anyone worldwide who has not yet published a complete book. It was inaugurated in 2009 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Wasafiri magazine, to support new writers, with no limits on age, gender, nationality or background. The prize is judged in three categories: Fiction, Poetry, and Life Writing; The winners are published in

38-537: A platform for hundreds of writers struggling to be heard at the outset of their writing careers, many of whom have since gone on to become world-renowned, award winners." The magazine frequently produces themed editions — for example, the Summer 2008 Indian edition, about which Neha Kirpal wrote: "The magazine critiques the work of various authors in a very in-depth manner, complete with detailed notes and useful references. It contains certainly not light-hearted writing; on

57-477: A range of notable guest editors over the years, such as Bernardine Evaristo , for the 2009 issue "Black Britain: Beyond Definition", and Billy Kahora and Zoe Norridge for the 2020 issue on "Human Rights Cultures". Many of the short stories published in the magazine have gone on to win literary prizes, including the Caine Prize for African Writing . Founding editor Susheila Nasta was followed after 35 years in

76-433: Is a British author and screenwriter. His writing focuses on race, racism, identity, and immigration. He is the editor of the 2016 collection of essays The Good Immigrant , which features contributions from Riz Ahmed , Musa Okwonga , Bim Adewunmi , and Reni Eddo-Lodge , among others. With Chimène Suleyman , he co-edited the 2019 follow-up collection called The Good Immigrant: 26 Writers Reflect On America . Shukla

95-501: The A-level syllabus. Once that process was under way, Wasafiri was created, becoming "a literary space for people to talk to each other" and opening up literary studies to a wider body of literature in English beyond the established canon. The magazine contributed towards writers such as Vikram Seth , Abdulrazak Gurnah , and Buchi Emecheta becoming established. As noted by a reviewer of

114-549: The "urgent topical weight, maturity, and technical skill" of the winners and shortlistees, announced in October 2023. Winners The 2024 judges of the prize were Margaret Busby (Chair), Isabel Waidner (Fiction), Cristina Rivera Garza (Life Writing), and Meena Kandasamy (Poetry). The winners were announced on 23 October as: Winners Wasafiri Wasafiri magazine was established in 1984 by Susheila Nasta , who served as its editor-in-chief for 35 years. The magazine

133-467: The 20th-anniversary issue, "Writing Across Worlds": "Since its foundation...the literary magazine Wasafiri has focused on the idea of the writer as someone who transports the imagination beyond the maps of narrowly defined borders, and has promoted a range of new and established voices as well as signposting new waves in contemporary literature worldwide." On its 25th anniversary Wasafiri was described by BBC Radio 4 's Woman's Hour as having "provided

152-1426: The Blood" by IfeOluwa Nihinlola (Fiction); "Babes in the Wood" by Maeve Henry (Poetry); "Feeding Grief to Animals" by Rebecca Parfitt (Life Writing) The 2019 judges were Susheila Nasta (Chair), Louise Doughty (Fiction), Warsan Shire (Poetry) and Nikesh Shukla (Life Writing). Winners Special commendations : Erica Sugi Anayadike, "How to Marry an African President" (Fiction); Joanna Johnson, "Pantoum of Soldiers" (Poetry); E. S. Batchelor, "Human Resources" (Life Writing) The 2020 judges were Simon Prosser (Fiction), Raymond Antrobus (Poetry) and Aida Edemariam (Life Writing), chaired by Kadija Sesay . Winners Special commendations : Adam Zmith for "Holding on" (Fiction); Emily Pritchard for "Cutting water" (Poetry); Minifreda Grovetszki for "When you think I'm hurrying you but you're taking an eternity over every damn thing" (Life Writing) The 2021 judges were Hirsh Sawhney (Fiction), Christie Watson (Life Writing), Tishani Doshi (Poetry), and Andrew Cowan (Chair). Winners The 2022 judges were Marina Salandy-Brown (Chair), Preti Taneja (Fiction), Mary Jean Chan (Poetry), and Francesca Wade (Life Writing). Winners The 2023 judges were Diana Evans (Chair), Leila Aboulela (Fiction), Caleb Femi (Poetry), and Aanchal Malhotra (Life Writing), who praised

171-1488: The Spring 2015 issue of Wasafiri . Winners The 2015 judges were Susheila Nasta (Chair), Toby Litt , Yasmin Alibhai Brown and Roger Robinson . Winners Special commendations : Akwaeke Emezi for "Welcome"; Richard Georges for "Bush Tea"; Sarala Estruch for "Saturdays" The 2016 judges were Susheila Nasta (Chair), Diran Adebayo , Imtiaz Dharker and Vesna Goldsworthy . The winners were published in Wasafiri 89 (Spring 2017). Winners Special commendations : H. M. Aziz for "The Cheekovit" (Fiction); Zillah Bowes for "Dogs who like fish" (Poetry); Cheryl Anderson for "Round Yard" (Life Writing) The 2017 judges were Susheila Nasta (Chair), Sabrina Mahfouz , Andrea Stuart and Boyd Tonkin . The winners were announced on 19 October at The People's Palace, Queen Mary University of London . Winners Special commendations : "Seven Hells" by Zaid Hassan (Fiction); "What Yung Thug's Colour Theory Best Describes As An Open Wound Or Open Letter" by Momtaza Mehri (Poetry); "Bentong! Go Back to Bentong!" by Aliyah Kim Keshani (Life Writing) The 2018 judges were Susheila Nasta (Chair), Elleke Boehmer , Malika Booker and Kerry Young . The winners were announced on 25 October at The Blenheim Saloon, Marlborough House . Winners Special commendations : "The Other Things in

190-435: The contrary, intense – almost equivalent to writing a research paper or academic essay. Wasafiri can safely serve as constructive material for any literature enthusiast or even as a ready reckoner for the budding writer. A collection that can be savoured by every book lover, Wasafiri is vital for all literature students, teachers, writers, critics, authors and poets and simply anyone who enjoys fiction." Special editions have had

209-602: The film Best Short at the 2017 Shuffle Festival, Boyle cast Patel in the title role of Jack in Yesterday (2019). Shukla has been a columnist for The Observer ' s magazine supplement and The Pool . In January 2019, Shukla appeared in series 47 of the BBC Radio 4 show Great Lives , nominating Pakistani wrestler The Great Gama (1878–1960). Shukla hosted a podcast called The Subaltern podcast , in which he has conversations with writers about writing. He also co-hosted

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228-568: The print and online magazine. The 2009 judges were: Susheila Nasta (Chair), Margaret Busby , Mimi Khalvati and Blake Morrison . The winners were announced by Mimi Khalvati on 31 October at the Purcell Room , South Bank Centre , London, with the winning entries subsequently published in Wasafiri 61, Spring 2010. Winners The 2010 judges were Susheila Nasta (Chair), Moniza Alvi , Romesh Gunesekera and Marina Warner . The winners were announced on October 14 at Somerset House , London, and

247-899: The prize have included over the years: Aanchal Malhotra , Aida Edemariam , Andrea Stuart , Andrew Cowan , Anthony Joseph , Beverley Naidoo , Bidisha , Blake Morrison , Boyd Tonkin , Brian Chikwava , Caleb Femi , Christie Watson , Colin Grant , Daljit Nagra , Diana Evans , Diran Adebayo , Elleke Boehmer , Hirsh Sawhney, Imtiaz Dharker , Inua Ellams , Jackie Kay , John Haynes, Kerry Young , Leila Aboulela , Louise Doughty , Malika Booker , Margaret Busby , Marina Warner , Maya Jaggi , Mimi Khalvati , Monique Roffey , Moniza Alvi , Nikesh Shukla , Raymond Antrobus , Roger Robinson , Romesh Gunesekera , Sabrina Mahfouz , Simon Prosser, Tabish Khair , Tishani Doshi , Toby Litt , Vesna Goldsworthy , Warsan Shire , Yasmin Alibhai Brown , as well as Susheila Nasta . Wasafiri ' s 35th anniversary

266-550: The role by Malachi McIntosh and then Emily Mercer, and the current editor and publishing director of Wasafiri , as of 2024, is Sana Goyal. An annual Wasafiri New Writing Prize (now known as the Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize ), open to anyone worldwide who has not yet published a complete book, was inaugurated in 2009 to celebrate the magazine's 25th anniversary. The prize is judged in three categories: Fiction, Poetry, and Life Writing. Judges of

285-925: The winning entries were published in Wasafiri 65, Spring 2011. Winners The 2011 judges were: Susheila Nasta (Chair), Brian Chikwava , Jackie Kay and Daljit Nagra . The winners were announced by Brian Chikwava at Bush House , London, and the winning entries were published in Wasafiri 69, Spring 2012. Winners The 2012 judges were: Susheila Nasta MBE (Chair), John Haynes, Maya Jaggi , Colin Grant . The winners were announced at Asia House on Wednesday 3 October. Winners The 2013 judges were Susheila Nasta MBE (Chair), Anthony Joseph , Tabish Khair and Beverley Naidoo . The winning entries were published in Issue 77 of Wasafiri in February 2014. Winners The 2014 judges were Susheila Nasta (Chair), Bidisha , Inua Ellams , Monique Roffey . The winning entries were published in

304-561: Was born to Indian immigrants in the London suburb Harrow . He attended Merchant Taylors' school in Northwood , leaving in 1996, then Dr. Challoner's Grammar School . Shukla is the author of three novels: Coconut Unlimited (2010), Meatspace (2014) and The One Who Wrote Destiny (2018) and the council of good friends(2020) He is also the author of two books for Young Adults: Run, Riot (2018) and The Boxer (2019). In 2017 he one of

323-682: Was marked by the publication of the anthology Brave New Words: The Power of Writing Now ( Myriad Editions , 2019), edited by Susheila Nasta. A collection of specially commissioned essays "exploring the place of the writer, past and present, the value of critical thinking and the power of the written word", it includes contributions by Bernardine Evaristo , Githa Hariharan , Eva Hoffman , Romesh Gunesekera , James Kelman , Tabish Khair , Kei Miller , Blake Morrison , Mukoma wa Ngugi , Hsiao-Hung Pai , Olumide Popoola , Shivanee Ramlochan , Bina Shah , Raja Shehadeh and Marina Warner . Nikesh Shukla Nikesh Shukla FRSL (born 8 July 1980)

342-595: Was one of the co-founders of the Jhalak Prize awarded annually to British or British resident writers of colour. In 2019 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature . He was a Rathbones Folio Prize Mentor in 2019–2020. Brown Baby , a memoir addressed to his young daughter, was published in 2021. He hosts a podcast of the same name. Shukla co-wrote the short film Two Dosas with Sarmad Masud . It starred Himesh Patel . After Danny Boyle awarded

361-553: Was originally developed to extend the activities of the Association for the Teaching of Caribbean, African, Asian and Associated Literatures (ATCAL), which was inaugurated in 1979. ATCAL campaigned for greater diversification of the " English literature " traditionally taught in UK schools at that time, and sought to get writers such as Derek Walcott , Jean Rhys and V. S. Naipaul included on

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