The Jhalak Prize
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The Jhalak Prize 2025
Poet Mimi Khalvati, writer and researcher N.S. Nuseibeh and Children’s & Young Adult writer Nathanael Lessore have won the ninth Jhalak Prize awards, which were announced on 4th June.
For the last nine years, the Prize has celebrated the very best books from writers of colour whose work has been published in the United Kingdom and Ireland. This year, the Prize has expanded its list with a dedicated poetry award.
Discover these brilliant books below, and find them on the shelves in your local bookshop.
This year's judging panel included the two winners of the 2024 Jhalak Prizes, Yepoka Yeebo and Hiba Noor Khan, alongside Jason Allen-Paisant, Malika Booker, Will Harris, Sareeta Domingo, Taran N. Khan, Yassmin Abdel-Magied and Alom Shaha.
2025 also saw the ongoing expansion of the annual Jhalak Art Residency. An artist of colour is commissioned to create a unique work of art that serves as the trophy for the winner of the Jhalak Prize, the Jhalak Poetry Prize and the Jhalak Children's & YA Prize.
The artists in residence for 2025 are:
Khaver Idrees - Jhalak Poetry Prize
Ketna Patel - Jhalak Prose Prize
Lucy Farfort - Jhalak Children's & YA Prize
Visit jhalakprize.com for more about the prize, the Art Residency, and this year's judges.
Want to hear more? Don't forget to follow #JhalakPrize25 and @jhalakprize on social media for updates.
Read more"The 2025 Jhalak judges have picked three very different books that are each towering literary achievements in their unique ways. These are books full of courage, insight and panache. They compassionately and with utmost honesty confront terrible realities and explore painful and complex histories and lives even as they exemplify playful stylistic experimentation and mastery of form and language. Most of all, they find courage, empathy and delight in places and moments where these seem entirely impossible. In their nuanced explorations of the human experience, Khalvati, Lessore and Nuseibeh offer hope, beauty and joy."
Sunny Singh, Prize Director
The Jhalak Prose Prize winner 2025
Namesake: Reflections on a Warrior Woman
by N.S. Nuseibeh (Canongate)
As well as a prize of £1,000, Nuseibeh was presented with a specially created work of art by Ketna Patel as part of the ongoing Jhalak Art Residency.
Of the artwork, titled 'Time is a Migrant Too', Patel comments:
"This collage is a meditation on movement—across borders, identities, and centuries. Built as a stream of consciousness, it flattens time into a single shared surface, where found imagery from disparate cultures and eras coexists without hierarchy. Lord Shiva, a Roman statue, historical figures, vintage Hollywood icons, and fragile blooms appear side by side, reminding us that the past is never truly past. This work invites us to reflect on time not as a straight line, but as a migrant too—shifting, cyclical, and shared."
"Namesake beautifully integrates the personal and the political, the timeless and the contemporary to weave a deft and immersive collection of essays that explore ideas of heritage, belonging, gender, religion and so much more with the powerful thread of the titular warrior woman's legacy. It's a vital piece of work for our current climate, and we were delighted to conclude that it should be our winner."
Sareeta Domingo, judge
"An excavation of the difficult questions that shape us, Namesake is both expansive and intimate, moving through history, colonialism, and inherited fault-lines. N.S. Nuseibeh uses her personal story to hold a mirror to the cost of strategic erasure, and invites us to a reckoning that is incredibly relevant, while also transcending the news cycle."
Taran N. Khan, judge
"Namesake is deeply illuminating, beautifully researched and written with bracing honesty and vulnerability. N.S. Nuseibeh has written about life in a way that is timeless, and about a storied figure from the past in a way that is timely and urgent."
Yepoka Yeebo, judge
The Jhalak Children's & Young Adult Prize winner 2025
King of Nothing
by Nathanael Lessore (Hot Key)
As well as a prize of £1,000, Lessore was presented with a specially created work of art by Lucy Farfort as part of the ongoing Jhalak Art Residency.
Farfort tells us more about the artwork, which is titled 'A Sea of Stories':
"Inspired by the water spirit Mami Wata and the Caribbean's strong connection to the sea. Mami Wata is a deity often depicted as a mermaid, whose origins lie in Africa and its diaspora. I have a huge affection for folklore and myth, from which some of our earliest, oral stories arose and still heavily influence storytelling today. I wanted to combine my love of those things with my own St Lucian heritage, and create a piece that would fuel the imagination and incite yet more incredible tales. The artwork began as a pencil drawing, which was scanned and finished with digital colour and collage."
"This book is outstanding in so many ways, managing to deal with serious, heartbreaking subject matter whilst also being laugh-out-loud funny and heartwarming. However, it is its treatment of contemporary concerns around toxic masculinity which make this book one that I hope will reach as many young teenagers as possible."
Alom Shaha, judge
"King of Nothing is immensely readable, heartwarming, and downright hilarious. I was consistently impressed with how effortlessly yet powerfully Lessore tackles urgent and vital themes in a down-to-earth and accessible way - not an easy feat by any means. A must read in today's world, and I eagerly look forward to what comes next on Nathanael's exciting journey!"
Hiba Noor Khan, judge
"King of Nothing is a riotous achievement. Funny, smart, with the feel of a contemporary classic, this is a book that is vital for today. Speaking to young men in a manner that is neither condescending nor judgemental, it offers a gentle hand and says, ‘I understand… and maybe there’s another way.’ This book may indeed change lives."
Yassmin Abdel-Magied, judge
The Jhalak Poetry Prize winner 2025
Collected Poems
by Mimi Khalvati (Carcanet)
As well as a prize of £1,000, Khalvati was presented with a specially created work of art by Khaver Idrees as part of the ongoing Jhalak Art Residency.
Titled 'The Phoenix Egg', the sculpture was created using the ancient Japanese technique of Raku firing. Idrees says:
"The inspiration for this piece is two-fold. The Phoenix: known for its ability to die in a blazing fire, only to be reborn from its ashes, symbolising a continuous cycle of life, death and rebirth. Second, Wabi Sabi: Japanese concept encompassing the spiritual abundance of discovering or feeling beauty in a revealed patina of an object. The decision to make from clay was for its connection to, and gift from Mother Earth. Using the ancient Japanese technique of Raku firing, which is intrinsically linked to Wabi Sabi, the red hot glazed egg was placed in combustible sawdust and paper, relinquishing control and embracing mystery and wonder. There is a smoke hole at the top to keep a connection to the divine/soul. The interior is glazed in gold and a tiny circular mirror placed inside, so by looking in we catch a glimpse or ‘jhalak’ of ourselves. A writing instrument made by putting back together the hands of time was placed through the smoke hole in order to create a correspondence between time and space."
"A lifetime's work, in which questions – 'stillborn' or 'withheld', but present nevertheless – provide a radiant frame: the mission of these poems is to restate the limits of a uniquely wandering mind and, in moving through various formal constraints, to surpass them."
Will Harris, judge
"Mimi Khalvati’s poetry has long stood as a quiet, luminous force in British literature. With a career spanning decades, her work has consistently blended formal mastery with emotional depth, rooted in both her Iranian heritage and her life in the UK. Her voice, at once intimate, lyrical and expansive, continues to evolve while staying anchored in a deep commitment to poetic tradition. As a poet of the global majority, Khalvati has been an essential figure in widening the lens of British poetry. She is a guiding light. A master of form. A voice of quiet revolution. This award not only honours a single collection of meticulously crafted poems, but a lifetime of shaping, challenging, and enriching the canon."
Malika Booker, judge
"Mimi Khalvati’s Collected Poems is a luminous testament to a lifetime of lyrical precision, emotional depth, and formal mastery. This collection not only charts the evolution of a singular voice, but offers a body of work that is both timeless and revelatory."
Jason Allen-Paisant, judge
The Jhalak Prose Prize shortlist 2025
Everest
by Ashani Lewis (Dialogue)
Manny and the Baby
by Varaidzo (Scribe)
My Friends
by Hisham Matar (Penguin Viking)
Namesake: Reflections on a Warrior Woman
by N.S. Nuseibeh (Canongate)
The Rest of You
by Maame Blue (Verve)
Where We Come From: Rap, Home and Hope in Modern Britain
by Aniefiok Ekpoudom (Faber)
Jhalak Children's & YA Prize shortlist 2024
Bringing Back Kay-Kay
by Dev Kothari (Walker)
Flower Block
by Lanisha Butterfield, illustrated by Hoang Giang (Puffin)
King of Nothing
by Nathanael Lessore (Hot Key)
Mayowa and the Sea of Words
by Chibundu Onuzo (Bloomsbury)
The Boy to Beat the Gods
by Ashley Thorpe (Usborne)
The Thread That Connects Us
by Ayaan Mohamud (Usborne)
The Jhalak Poetry Prize shortlist 2025
Adam
by Gboyega Odubanjo (Faber)
Boiled Owls
by Azad Ashim Sharma (Out-Spoken Press)
Collected Poems
by Mimi Khalvati (Carcanet)
Horse
by Rushika Wick (Broken Sleep Books)
Self-Portrait with Family
by Amaan Hyder (Nine Arches Press)
Top Doll
by Karen McCarthy Woolf (Dialogue)
"The authors on our 2025 shortlists do not flinch from harsh realities of our histories, times and lives. Yet each of these books is an exquisitely crafted, stunning work of literature that is full of love, hope and joy."
Sunny Singh, Prize Director
The Jhalak Prize longlist 2025
Allow Me to Introduce Myself
by Onyi Nwabineli (Magpie)
Determination
by Tawseef Khan (Footnote)
Dispersals
by Jessica J. Lee (Hamish Hamilton)
Everest
by Ashani Lewis (Dialogue)
Manny and the Baby
by Varaidzo (Scribe)
My Friends
by Hisham Matar (Penguin Viking)
Namesake: Reflections on a Warrior Woman
by N.S. Nuseibeh (Canongate)
The Ministry of Time
by Kaliane Bradley (Sceptre)
The Rest of You
by Maame Blue (Verve)
The Strangers
by Ekow Eshun (Hamish Hamilton)
The Thirty Before Thirty List
by Tasneem Abdur-Rashid (Zaffre)
Where We Come From: Rap, Home and Hope in Modern Britain
by Aniefiok Ekpoudom (Faber)
Jhalak Children's & YA Prize longlist 2025
Bringing Back Kay-Kay
by Dev Kothari (Walker)
Flower Block
by Lanisha Butterfield, illustrated by Hoang Giang (Puffin)
It's Time to Hush and Say Goodnight
by Chitra Soundar, illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat (Walker)
King of Nothing
by Nathanael Lessore (Hot Key)
Little Dinosaurs, Big Feelings
by Swapna Haddow, illustrated by Yiting Lee (Magic Cat)
Mayowa and the Sea of Words
by Chibundu Onuzo (Bloomsbury)
Red Sky at Night, Poet's Delight
by Alex Wharton, illustrated by Ian Morris (Firefly Press)
The Boy to Beat the Gods
by Ashley Thorpe (Usborne)
The Gift
by Jii & Nikos Parkes Trepkas (Tate Publishing)
The Hidden Story of Estie Noor
by Nadine Aisha Jassat, illustrated by Sandhya Prabhat (Orion)
The Thread That Connects Us
by Ayaan Mohamud (Usborne)
These Stolen Lives
by Sharada Keats (Scholastic)
Jhalak Poetry Prize longlist 2025
Adam
by Gboyega Odubanjo (Faber)
Agimat
by Romalyn Ante (Chatto & Windus)
amuk
by Khairani Barokka (Nine Arches Press)
Boiled Owls
by Azad Ashim Sharma (Out-Spoken Press)
Collected Poems
by Mimi Khalvati (Carcanet)
Emotional Support Horse
by Claudine Toutoungi (Carcanet)
Fantasia
by Nisha Ramayya (Granta Poetry)
Horse
by Rushika Wick (Broken Sleep Books)
Self-Portrait with Family
by Amaan Hyder (Nine Arches Press)
Signs, Music
by Raymond Antrobus (Picador Poetry)
The Tattoo Collector
by Tim Tim Chen (Nine Arches Press)
Top Doll
by Karen McCarthy Woolf (Dialogue)
The Jhalak Prize celebrates books by writers of colour and annually awards £1,000 to three winners. The Jhalak Art Residency sees an artist of colour commissioned to create a unique work of art that serves as the trophy for each of the winners of the prizes.
The artists in residence for 2025 are:
Khaver Idrees - Jhalak Poetry Prize
Ketna Patel - Jhalak Prose Prize
Lucy Farfort - Jhalak Children's & YA Prize
Find out more about the Jhalak Art Residency.
In Spring 2024, The Jhalak Foundation and the Royal Literary Fund’s WritersMosaic launched The Review, an editorially independent, 16-page biannual insert in The Bookseller magazine.
At National Book Tokens, we're thrilled to be partnering with the Jhalak Prize for the fifth year to help them increase awareness of the prize titles amongst booksellers, who have always been the best champions of books in their local communities. By distributing point-of-sale kits and social assets to bookshops, and by amplifying their activities through tailored PR support, we help them to create instore displays and shout about the longlists, shortlists and winners from their online channels and in local press.
"Championing the Jhalak Prize has always been so important for us. It has been an honour to have sponsored two winners, one being a Newham author. Such an important prize."
- Vivian Archer, Newham Bookshop
Previous winners of the Jhalak Prize are Yepoka Yeebo for Anansi's Gold: the Man Who Swindled the World (2024), Travis Alabanza for None of the Above (2023), Sabba Khan for The Roles We Play (2022), Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi for The First Woman (Oneworld) in 2021, Johny Pitts for Afropean: Notes from Black Europe (Penguin) in 2020, Guy Gunaratne for In Our Mad and Furious City (Tinder Press) in 2019, Reni Eddo-Lodge for Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race (Bloomsbury Circus) in 2018 and Jacob Ross for The Bone Readers (Little, Brown) in 2017. Previous winners of the Jhalak Children's & Young Adult Prize are Hiba Noor Khan for Safiyyah's War (2024), Daniella Jawando for When Our Worlds Collided (2023), Maisie Chan Danny Chung Does Not Do Maths (2022) and Patrice Lawrence for Eight Pieces of Silva (2021).
Visit www.jhalakprize.com to learn more.
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