The 2011 Wasafiri New Writing Prize: Introduction

Abstract

When Wasafiri was founded back in 1984, among its key aims was the desire to provide space for some of the most promising literary voices from around the world. It was in this spirit that we launched the Wasafiri New Writing Prize in 2009, as the magazine celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary. Open to anyone around the world who has not yet published a complete book in their chosen genre of entry – poetry, fiction, life writing – the prize has grown from strength to strength. Each year we receive an overwhelming number of entries from all corners of the globe — from Argentina to Singapore, from Cameroon to the Netherlands, from New Zealand to Romania. And in just three years we have seen previous winners achieve further success in their writing lives.

This year, Wasafiri editor Susheila Nasta was joined by three distinguished writers on the judging panel: award-winning author and recipient of the Caine Prize for African Writing, Brian Chikwava; celebrated prose writer, poet and playwright, Jackie Kay MBE; and Daljit Nagra, critically acclaimed poet, winner of the Forward Prize and ACE Decibel Award. After a long period of deliberation, three winners were announced and we are delighted to be publishing their entries here: ‘Room 618’ by Michael Marett-Crosby (Fiction), ‘On Growing’ by Abeer Hoque (Life Writing) and ‘Adin’ by Richard Scott (Poetry). Our congratulations go to the winners and to those who made the shortlist. We also wish to thank everyone who entered and supported the prize this year and we look forward to further wonderful submissions in 2012, when we open the fourth Wasafiri New Writing Prize.