Returning to the British Library, Nicola Dinan, Jon Ransom and Sarah Hagger-Holt were announced as the winners of the 2024 Polari Prizes at a sparkling winners’ ceremony.
Nicola Dinan took home the Polari First Book Prize for her tale of young love and transformation Bellies (Penguin), Jon Ransom received the Polari Book Prize for his story of a tense and mesmerising love triangle The Gallopers (Muswell Press), making him the first ever winner of two successive Polari Prizes, and Sarah Hagger-Holt was awarded the bi-annual Polari Children’s and YA Prize for The Fights That Make Us (Usborne), a heart-warming tale of acceptance which draws on LGBTQ+ history.
This year, both adult winning titles have love stories at their hearts and central plot points of theatre, with unforgettable characters pushing the boundaries of what LGBTQ fiction can offer.
Paul Burston, founder and chair of judges for both categories, said: “At first glance, this year’s prize-winning novels couldn’t be more different – one contemporary, the other historical; one urban, the other rural; one exploring the trans experience from a modern British, cross-cultural perspective, the other looking at working class gay lives in 1950s Norfolk. But both push the boundaries of LGBTQ fiction; both feature the formal device of a play within the main narrative; and both explore the loves and lives of queer characters in surprising new ways. Beautifully written, deeply moving and dazzlingly original, these are novels destined to become modern classics.”
The Polari First Book Prize winner receives a cheque for £1,000 from sponsors FMcM Associates, who also run pro-bono PR and marketing for the Polari Prizes. The Polari Book Prize winner receives a cheque for £2,000 from sponsors D H H Literary Agency. The Polari Children’s & YA Prize winner receives a cheque for £1,000 from sponsors Ash Literary. All three winners will receive the prize of a package holiday of their choice from headline sponsors easyJet holidays.
Jon Ransom, judge of the Polari First Book Prize and last year’s winner, said: “Wonderfully modern, timely and complex, Bellies is a call to move beyond judgement towards perception—a book that deserves to be read.”
Garry Wilson, judge of the Polari Book Prize and CEO of easyJet holidays, who announced a major three-year partnership with the Polari Prizes earlier this year, said: “Jon Ransom’s writing continues to both dazzle and unsettle. His unique signature style is his uncanny ability to convey so much through such an economy of words that effortlessly captures the lives and dialogue of his complex characters, as well as the oppressive environment they live in. A writer of original, breathtaking talent, The Gallopers, should already be considered as a novel worthy to take its place amongst the canon of queer literature.”
Suzi Feay, judge of the Polari Book Prize, said: “For Jon Ransom to have built upon the success of his Polari-prizewinning debut so speedily is admirable. A love story by turns tender and sinister, joy-filled and apprehensive, with a sure sense of historical perspective, The Gallopers is set to become a classic.”
