I’m thrilled to reveal that I will be a judge of this year’s Green Carnation Prize! The award has long been a favourite of mine as it celebrates LGBT writers. Since the prize is partnered with Foyles it gives a fantastic physical platform for books listed for the award as well as shining a spotlight on LGBT writers in all genres. I strongly believe it’s important for queer writers to have an award which raises attention for their work – not despite their status as an LGBT individual but because of it.
It’s especially exciting I’ll be working with a wonderful group of fellow judges – particularly our chair Niven Govinden whose novels I’ve read and highly respect. Also actress/model Sophie Ward who played Elizabeth Hardy in ‘Young Sherlock Holmes’ (a movie I watched obsessively as a child). Several years ago I was a judge of the Lambda awards for debut novels. I read so many fantastic new writers and books through the process including the brilliant winner “Blue Boy” by Rakesh Satyal. I’m certain we’ll discover some fantastic new books in the process and have some heated discussions about what we’re reading – hopefully with some cake involved! Stay tuned for future updates.
