SI Leeds Literary Prize 2024

A writing prize that helps discover exciting new talent from underrepresented groups will be accepting entries again next month.

The SI Leeds Literary Prize for unpublished fiction by Black and Asian female writers has successfully secured funding from Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants.

Writers will have from 1 April 2024 to midnight May 13^th 2024 to send in their entries.

The prizes in 2024 will be as follows:

£4,000 for the 1st Prize, plus a free place on an Arvon creative writing course, and manuscript assessment through The Literary Consultancy.  The manuscript will be given serious consideration for publication by Peepal Tree Press, should this be considered the best fit for the book.

£2,000 for the runner-up and £1,000 for the third-placed writer, and manuscript assessment through The Literary Consultancy.

In addition, all long listed entrants will be offered a tailored package of support through the unique Prize Plus programme of writer development, includes coaching sessions from The Literary Consultancy, The Written Academy and Anna Caig, covering craft and career development, developing a writing habit that lasts, and maximising a writer’s marketing potential.

We will be repeating our successful mentoring scheme, matching selected writers from the 2024 longest with previous Prize alumnae.

Prize Director, Fiona Goh, said: “We are so thrilled to launch the seventh biennial edition of the SI Leeds Literary Prize for black and Asian women writers. During the last 12 years, the Prize has supported and championed unpublished fiction by some incredible writers, and it is a joy to see so many of their books on our bookshelves now. From Amita Murray to Kit de Waal, Mahsuda Snaith to Wenyan Lu, SI Prize alumnae are a brilliant testament to the importance of the Prize in finding new voices to delight and inspire us.”

Saima Mir was longlisted for the award in 2014. Her novel, The Khan, went on to become a bestseller and was The Times and Sunday Times book of the year in 2021. She said: “The SI Leeds Literary Prize was exactly the boost I needed to keep going with my dream. It is such an important award and helps women of colour believe that there is space for us in publishing. I wouldn’t be here without it!”

The Prize was set up in 2012 by Soroptimist International of Leeds, a global organisation dedicated to the development and support of women.

The Prize’s core partners are Word Up North and independent publishers Peepal Tree Press, and the 2024 programme of Prize Plus writer support is made possible by partnership with Arvon, New Writing North, The Literary Consultancy, The Written Academy, Luton Literature and Mslexia.

Further information about the prize and how to enter can be found at www.sileedsliteraryprize.com.