You are viewing your 1 free article this month. Login to read more articles.
The longlist for the 2013 Polari First Book Prize has been revealed, with two self-published authors making the list alongside books from major publishers.
Sponsorship for this year's £1,000 prize from the UK lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender network of the banking company Société Générale has also been announced.
The prize is given each year to a book which explores the LGBT experience, and is open to any work of poetry or prose, either fiction and non-fiction, published in the UK in the 12 months before 1st February 2013. It is open to submissions from self-published authors both in print, and digitally. Self-published e-books The Governess by Rachael Eyre and The Sitar by Rebecca Idris (self-published ebook) are included on this year's long list.
This year's judging panel is made up of Paul Burston, host of the Polari literary salon, critics Bidisha and Suzi Feay, authors Rachel Holmes and VG Lee, and bookshop buyer Joe Storey-Scott. Burston said: "The judges were impressed with the range and overall quality of submissions this year. There were also far more books by women than in previous years, which is reflected in the longlist."
The full shortlist is:
The January Flower by Orla Broderick (Council House Publishing)
Five To One by Chris Chalmers (Wink)
Counting Eggs by Peter Daniels (Mulfran Press)
Realisations by Andie Davidson (Bramley Press)
The Governess by Rachael Eyre (self-published ebook)
The Murder Wall by Mari Hannah (Pan Macmillan)
Tony Hogan Bought Me An Icecream Float Before He Stole My Ma by Kerry Hudson (Chatto & Windus)
The Sitar by Rebecca Idris (self-published ebook)
Catching Bullets - Memoirs of a Gay Bond Fan by Mark O'Connell (Splendid Books)
Readings from the Book of Exile by Pádraig Ó Tuama (Canterbury Press)
The Tale of Raw Head & Bloody Bones by Jack Wolf (Chatto & Windus)