Jhalak Prize: Nansubuga Makumbi and Patrice Lawrence win for their works

The intent of the literary award is to showcase authors of colour and is awarded to British or British-resident BAME writers (an umbrella term for Black, Asian, and minority ethnic)

This year, the Jhalak Prize has been awarded to Ugandan writer Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi for her novel The First Woman and British writer Patrice Lawrence for Eight Pieces of Silva for the inaugural children’s and young adult category of the award.

Published in 2020, The First Woman centers on Kirabo, a young girl who grows up in a Ugandan village and with experience learns the worth of becoming a woman in a community that makes no space for her voice. Makumbi fuses folklore in her narrative lending the novel an epic-like quality.

Eight Pieces of Silva, on the other hand, is young adult fiction. It is a mystery novel but the narrative is strengthened with themes like sisterly bonds thriving on mutual K-pop fixation.

First awarded in 2017, The Jhalak Prize has been instituted by authors writers Nikesh Shukla, Sunny Singh, and Media Diversified. The intent of the literary award is to showcase authors of colour, and is awarded to British or British-resident BAME writers (an umbrella term for Black, Asian, and minority ethnic).  It entails prize money of £1,000.

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