Launching a £15,000 prize for writers from refugee and migrant backgrounds | books

Footnote Press and Counterpoints Arts have announced a new fiction prize celebrating writers from refugee and migrant backgrounds, offering a £15,000 prize and a publishing deal to the winner.

The Footnote x Counterpoints Imagination Prize, which will be launched on Thursday, marks the second time the two organizations have collaborated on an award. In 2023, writers are invited to submit non-fiction, but the award will now focus on fiction for the first time.

The award is open to writers living in the UK or Ireland, and aims to uncover new literary voices whose work reflects experiences of migration. Footnote Press, an imprint of Bonnier Books UK, and Counterpoints Arts, a national organization focusing on the arts, migration and cultural change, say the award will highlight novels “centered around themes of displacement, courage and belonging”.

The winner will receive a cash prize of £7,500 and an additional advance of £7,500 as part of the publishing agreement with Footnote Press. The Southbank Center in London will support the award by hosting a public event in May, where shortlisted writers will read and discuss their work.

This year’s judging panel includes Dina Nayeri, author of The Ungrateful Refugee, Head of Books at Waterstones Pia Carvalho, Footnote Press commissioning editor Serena Arthur, and Almir Koldzic, director and co-founder of Counterpoints Arts.

“At a time of deep divisions and intolerance, the award seems particularly necessary and urgent,” Koldzic said. “We hope it will help us amplify fascinating new literary voices and lived experiences of displacement, offering us new perspectives and questions about our community today and in the future.”

Applications are open and will close on February 13. Entries must include a sample of 8,000 to 10,000 words and an abstract of at least 1,500 words. The shortlist will be announced in May, and the winner will be revealed during Refugee Week in June.

“The award still revolves around the core themes of both Footnote’s ethos and roster, but I’m particularly excited about turning to fantasy this time,” Arthur said.

Sabreen Hasboun won the first Footnote x Counterpoints Prize, awarded for non-fiction, in 2024 for her novel Crossing: A Love Story Between Italy and Palestine. Published in May of this year, it is a memoir that traces the love story between Hasboun’s Palestinian father and her Italian mother.

Full eligibility details and conditions are available on the Bonnier Books UK website.