Chitra Ramaswamy’s Expecting shortlisted for Polari First Book Prize

Posted on August 1, 2017

Expecting – Chitra Ramaswamy’s pregnancy memoir – has been shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize, which is awarded annually to a writer whose first book explores the LGBT experience, whether in poetry, prose, fiction or non-fiction.

This year’s shortlist brings together three male and three female writers hailing from Kuwait to Cardiff, whose eclectic body of work offers a range of perspectives on the LGBT experience.

Along with Expecting, which also won the Saltire Society First Book of the Year, the Polari Prize shortlist features:

•Guapa – Saleem Haddad (Europa Editions UK)

•We Go Around In The Night And Are Consumed By Fire – Jules Grant (Myriad)

•Straight Jacket – Matthew Todd (Bantam)

•The Vegetarian Tigers of Paradise – Crystal Jeans (Honno)

•Jerusalem Ablaze – Orlando Ortega-Medina (Cloud Lodge)

Chair of judges Paul Burston said: “We are delighted with the breadth and strength of the work this year, which spans such a broad range of countries, cultures and experiences… ”

Judges for the 2017 prize include author, journalist and host of Polari Literary Salon, chair Paul Burston; Rachel Holmes, author and former Head of Literature & Spoken Word at the Southbank; literary critic, Suzi Feay; author and comedian, VG Lee; and playwright, actor and producer, Alexis Gregory.

The overall winner will be revealed at the London Literature Festival on October 13 at the Southbank Centre.