By Andrew Richard Albanese, Editor-in-Chief
At a June 10 reception held at Hachette’s Carmelite House in London, acclaimed author Diana Evans, author and visual artist Maggie Harris, and debut novelist Fidan Meikle were announced as the winners of the tenth annual Jhalak Prize Awards.Established in 2016, the Jhalak Prize awards celebrate exceptional works of literature across genres and formats by writers of color working in the U.K. and Ireland.
Organizers said the 2026 winning titles “explore the ghosts of colonial history, the courageous and desperate journey of a young refugee, and conversations about literature, art and music, identity and land/place.” In addition, this year’s winners featured strong representation from regional independent presses.
From left: Fidan Meikle, winner of the 2026 Jhalak Children’s and Young Adult Prize; Maggie Harris, winner of the 2026 Jhalak Poetry Prize; and Diana Evans, winner of the 2026 Jhalak Prose Prize.
Diana Evans, the award-winning, bestselling author of A House for Alice, Ordinary People, The Wonder, 26a and a collection of nonfiction, I Want to Talk to You, won the 2026 Jhalak Prose Prize for I Want to Talk to You: And Other Conversations, published by Chatto & Windus.
Wales-bases poet and author Maggie Harris, originally from Guyana, won the 2026 Jhalak Poetry Prize for her collection I Sing to the Greenhearts, published by leading Welsh indie publisher Seren Books.
And Azerbaijani-British writer, poet, and linguist Fidan Meikle, based in Scotland, won the 2026 Jhalak Children’s and Young Adult Prize for her middle grade story, My Name is Samim, published by Scottish indie Floris Books.
Each writer was awarded £1,000 and specially commissioned, unique trophies created by artists Munir Wakid (for Jhalak Prose Prize), Malak Mattar (for Jhalak Poetry Prize) and Hoang Giang (Jhalak Children’s & YA Prize).
“The judges have, once again, selected towering works of literature for winners of the three Jhalak Prize awards,” said prize Director, Sunny Singh, in a statement. “Their choices exemplify the courageous and defiant works that have become a hallmark of the Prize over the past decade…These are books that are urgent and necessary now, and shall endure far into the future.”
The judges for the Jhalak Prose Prize include founding judge, Catherine Johnson, who has returned for the Prize’s 10th anniversary year, Jacob Ross, winner of the inaugural Jhalak Prize for his novel Bone Readers (Peepal Tree Press) and the writer, Ami Rao; The judges for the Jhalak Children’s & Young Adult Prize were Sita Brahmachari, Lanisha Butterfield and Christine Pillainayagam. The judges for the Jhalak Poetry Prize were Romalyn Ante, Nikita Gill and Kadija (George) Sesay.
The winners were drawn from an outstanding shortlist of six works in each category, which were announced earlier this spring.