Prize co-founder and judge Nelle Andrew, Literary Agent at RML and Agent of the Year at the British Book Awards 2021 says:
“The illustrious, wise and supremely talented Toni Morrison once wrote: “If you are free then you need to free somebody else. If you have power then it is your job to empower somebody else.”
My name is Nelle Andrew and, as a Literary Agent who is also a woman of colour, I have made my way in the world when those who looked like me and had the same background as me were few and far between. I am thrilled to say that this is no longer the case (although in my opinion, publishing still has a way to go before the balance is completely achieved).
One of the most exciting parts my job is to find exciting new talent, empower arresting new voices and advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves. I have had the privilege to work with many people from across many backgrounds in my career, and now with the help of Morley College, this is the latest initiative in which I hope to achieve that ambition Toni Morrison advocated so many years ago.
The Morley Prize for Unpublished Writers of Colour is a brilliant opportunity to source talent and give a platform to incredible new voices who may not have had the exposure or encouragement to enter the Publishing Industry and talent pool before. Sponsored by Rachel Mills Literary, the prize seeks to encourage anyone who is has not been published, and is not agented regardless of age or experience, to submit either an extract of a novel whether it is unfinished or finished for the chance to win an insight and editorial feedback from myself as well as prize money for the best piece of work from an author of a BME background.
The winner will receive a £500 prize, but the real reward here is that those shortlisted will be given individual editorial consultations with an agent on their work, and the chance to ask any questions about the agent/editorial process and how to secure an agent - opportunities available to very few budding authors, but advice and connections which for those without access might mean the difference in achieving a career as a writer.
The aim of this prize is to discover and empower the next pool of talent from diverse British backgrounds to continue and reignite the rich cultural history we have of diverse authors who defined and distinguished the writing cannon of authors from Octavia E Spencer to Zadie Smith; from Andrea Levy to Sara Collins and Candice Carty-Williams.
Whether this is a long held dream or a recent aspiration, we encourage you to enter. We cannot wait to discover you.”
