The London Library, the UK’s largest independent library, will team up with the Jhalak Prize to offer shortlisted and winning authors complimentary membership with full access to the Library’s collection of over a million books and to its extensive online resources.

For the next three years, the shortlisted authors for the Jhalak Prize and the new Jhalak Children’s & YA Prize will receive a complimentary one-year membership and the winning authors of both prizes will receive a complimentary two-year membership of The London Library.

The London Library will host a celebration of the prize for all the shortlisted authors of the Jhalak Prize and Jhalak Children’s & YA Prize for each of the three years.

The Jhalak Prize was established in 2016 to celebrate books by British and British resident writers of colour and the Jhalak Children’s & YA Prize was founded in 2020. Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi won the Jhalak Prize in 2021 for her novel The First Woman, published by Oneworld, and entries for the 2022 prizes are open until 15 December 2021.

Commenting on the partnership, London Library Trustee Yassmin Abdel-Magied says: “I’m so pleased that The London Library is partnering with the Jhalak Prize to help celebrate and support the work of British and British resident writers of colour. We are delighted to provide Jhalak prize nominees with Library membership and free access to our collection and very much look forward to welcoming such gifted writers to the Library’s writing community. I hope to meet some myself, browsing through the stacks!”.

The Jhalak Prize’s Sunny Singh comments: “We are delighted to partner with The London Library to celebrate and support writers of colour in Britain. The London Library is a uniquely writerly institution not only with its incredible collection but also its writing spaces. We can’t wait to have our winners and shortlisted authors join this incredible community.”