SI Leeds Literary Prize

rdf:langString SI Leeds Literary Prize

rdf:langString The SI Leeds Literary Prize

rdf:langString The SI Leeds Literary Prize

rdf:langString For unpublished fiction written by Black and Asian women resident in the UK

rdf:langString United Kingdom

rdf:langString Soroptimist International of Leeds

rdf:langString The SI Leeds Literary Prize is a biennial award founded in 2012 by Soroptimist International of Leeds (SI Leeds) – a branch of the worldwide women's organization Soroptimist International – for unpublished fiction written by Black and Asian women resident in the UK. Submissions must be of more than 30,000 words of fiction and entrants must be aged 18 years and over. The prize offers support for writers to develop their work and to help build new audiences. Described as "groundbreaking", the prize has been developed and managed by SI Leeds in partnership with Ilkley Literature Festival and Leeds-based publishers Peepal Tree Press. Among other partners are The Literary Consultancy (TLC), Writing on the Wall (WOW), the Arvon Foundation, New Writing North, and Leeds Library and Information Service. According to TLC Director Aki Schulz: "The SI Leeds Prize offers a vital opportunity to women writers from black and Asian communities whose voices as we all know are often marginalised from the publishing landscape. It is encouraging to feel that that landscape is finally making shifts in the direction of genuinely more representative and inclusive publishing, with a springing-up of initiatives and a rallying cry from those demanding to be heard and for the right to tell their stories as well as be given the critical artistic freedom to write creatively." As of 2014, patrons of the prize include Bernardine Evaristo, Bidisha, Bonnie Greer, Carolyn Choa, Diana Evans, Diana Howse, Dreda Say Mitchell, Hannah Pool, Margaret Oldroyd (president of Soroptimist International Great Britain and Ireland), Maya Jaggi, Pippa Small, Sue Woodford-Hollick and Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, with Margaret Busby as prize ambassador and Irenosen Okojie as prize advocate.