Morley Prize for Unpublished Writers of Colour

The third year of our annual prize, jointly presented by Morley College London and the Rachel Mills Literary Agency, awarded to a previously unpublished aspiring authors of colour. 

The prize is intended to nurture and provide opportunities for aspiring novelists of colour, promote diverse fiction across the broader literary landscape of Britain and continue Morley’s long history of educational excellence, community engagement, and support for social justice.

We are delighted to announce that for 2023 we will be offering two independent prizes, one for works of fiction, and one for Life Writing and Creative Non fiction. Full terms and conditions are accessible via the “Applicants” button below.

The Morley Prize Winner

Announcing our Morley Prize winners 2023! Congratulations to our winners and to all shortlisted authors and entrants!

Non-Fiction

Jade Cuttle - Silthood (Non-Fiction)

Fiction

Joseph Diwakar - I Shall Not Want (Fiction)

The Morley Prize Shortlists

These entries have been selected to be put forward to the final round of judging, with the winner announced at the Morley Prize event on 12th October.

Non-Fiction

Zenab Ahmed - First Daughter (Non-Fiction)

Jade Cuttle - Silthood (Non-Fiction)

Nina Kelly - Carmen & Hilda (Non-Fiction)

Fiction

Emma Allotey - With Love and Regret (Fiction)

Joseph Diwakar - I Shall Not Want (Fiction)

Chandani Thapa - The Fire (Fiction)

The Morley Prize Longlist

These entries have been selected to be put forward to the second round of judging, going into a shortlist to be announced on 2nd October.

Zenab Ahmed - First Daughter (Non-Fiction)

Ellie Abraham - We Are But Dust and Shadow (Fiction)

Denise Adabra - To My Moonlit Boy (Fiction)

Emma Allotey - With Love and Regret (Fiction)

Jade Cuttle - Silthood (Non-Fiction)

Joseph Diwakar - I Shall Not Want (Fiction)

Michael Fellowes - Scarlet and the White (Fiction)

Sevcan Gazi - Quantum Trailblazer: Unmasking the Genius of Pascual Jordan (Non-Fiction)

Nina Kelly - Carmen & Hilda (Non-Fiction)

Chandani Thapa - The Fire (Fiction)

 

Prize co-founder Nelle Andrew, Literary Agent at RML and Agent of the Year at the British Book Awards 2021 says:

“The illustrious, wise and supremely talented Toni Morrison once wrote: “If you are free then you need to free somebody else. If you have power then it is your job to empower somebody else.”

My name is Nelle Andrew and, as a Literary Agent who is also a woman of colour, I have made my way in the world when those who looked like me and had the same background as me were few and far between. I am thrilled to say that this is no longer the case (although in my opinion, publishing still has a way to go before the balance is completely achieved).

One of the most exciting parts my job is to find exciting new talent, empower arresting new voices and advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves. I have had the privilege to work with many people from across many backgrounds in my career, and now with the help of Morley College, this is the latest initiative in which I hope to achieve that ambition Toni Morrison advocated so many years ago.

The Morley Prize for Unpublished Writers of Colour is a brilliant opportunity to source talent and give a platform to incredible new voices who may not have had the exposure or encouragement to enter the Publishing Industry and talent pool before. Sponsored by Rachel Mills Literary, the prize seeks to encourage anyone who is has not been published, and is not agented regardless of age or experience, to submit either an extract of a novel whether it is unfinished or finished for the chance to win an insight and editorial feedback from myself as well as prize money for the best piece of work from an author of a BME background.

The winners will receive £500 prizes, but the real reward here is that those shortlisted will be given individual editorial consultations with an agent on their work, and the chance to ask any questions about the agent/editorial process and how to secure an agent - opportunities available to very few budding authors, but advice and connections which for those without access might mean the difference in achieving a career as a writer.  

The aim of this prize is to discover and empower the next pool of talent from diverse British backgrounds to continue and reignite the rich cultural history we have of diverse authors who defined and distinguished the writing cannon of authors from Octavia E Spencer to Zadie Smith; from Andrea Levy to Sara Collins and Candice Carty-Williams.

Whether this is a long held dream or a recent aspiration, we encourage you to enter. We cannot wait to discover you.”

 

Prize Judges

NELLE ANDREW is lead judge and a literary agent at Rachel Mills Literary (RML). She has been nominated for Agent of the Year 2018 and 2021 and was a Bookseller Rising Star in 2016. She represents a raft of bestselling and award winning authors from Sara Collins and Elizabeth Day to Bryony Gordon, Heidi Perks and Ayisha Malik.

MARIANNE TATEPO is lead non-fiction judge. She is a non-fiction Publishing Director at Penguin Random House UK and has been a reader for numerous competitions, prizes and organisations, including: The Literary Consultancy, WriteNow (PRH), the B4ME 4th Estate/Guardian Prize (HarperCollins), #Merky Books New Writers’ Prize (PRH) as well as Spread the Word’s Life Writing Prize and London Short Story Prize. She is the founder of publishing community and mentoring network Black Agents & Editors’ Group.

LOUISE HARE is a novelist whose debut This Lovely City was longlisted for the HWA Goldsboro Award and the RSL Ondaatje Prize as well as being selected by Sara Cox for the Between the Covers Book Club.

AYISHA MALIK is an author whose adult novels Sofia Khan is Not Obliged, The Other Half of Happiness, and This Green and Pleasant Land were met with critical acclaim. Ayisha was a WHSmith Fresh Talent Pick and Sofia Khan has been a CityReads London book. Her children’s books include a re-telling of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park and The Seven Sisters. She is winner of The Diversity Book Awards and has been shortlisted for The Asian Women of Achievement Award, Marie Claire's Future Shapers' Awards and the h100 Awards. Her latest novel, The Movement, is out July 2022.

KIMBERLY McINTOSH is a writer and researcher with a focus on race and inequality, serving as a judge on the non-fiction prize. Her first book, black girl, no magic, an essay collection that marries research with memoir will be published by the Borough Press at HarperCollins in June 2023.