Shortlists have been selected for the 2025 Jhalak Prize, Jhalak Children's & YA Prize, and the new Jhalak Poetry Prize, celebrating "books by writers of color in Britain and Ireland." The winners, each of whom receives £1,000 (about $1,325) along with a unique work of art created by artists chosen for the annual Jhalak Art Residency, will be named June 4. This year's shortlisted titles are:
Jhalak Prize
Everest by Ashani Lewis
Manny and the Baby by Varaidzo
My Friends by Hisham Matar
Namesake: Reflections on a Warrior Woman by N.S. Nuseibeh
The Rest of You by Mame Blue
Where We Come From: Rap, Home & Hope in Modern Britain by Aniefiok Ekpoudom
Jhalak Children's & YA Prize
Bringing Back Kay-Kay by Dev Kothari
Flower Block by Lanisha Butterfield & Hoang Giang
King of Nothing by Nathanael Lessore (Hot Key)
Mayowa and the Sea of Words by Chibundu Onuzo
The Boy to Beat the Gods by Ashley Thorpe
The Thread That Connects Us by Ayaan Mohamud
Jhalak Poetry Prize
Adam by Gboyega Odubanjo
Boiled Owls by Azad Ashim Sharma
Collected Poems by Mimi Khalvati
Horse by Rushika Wick
Self-Portrait with Family by Amaan Hyder
Top Doll by Karen McCarthy Woolf