Saga Prize

The Saga Prize was a literary award for new Black British novelists, which ran from 1995 to 1998.

History

The actress and writer Marsha Hunt established the Saga Prize in 1995. The prize – of £3,000 and a book contract – was for unpublished first novels. To be eligible, entrants needed a black African ancestor and to have been born in the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland. The prize was sponsored by the travel firm Saga plc.[1] Judges included Andrea Levy and Margaret Busby.[2]

The 'afrocentric' nature of the Saga Prize and its restrictive definition of blackness caused controversy.[1] The Commission for Racial Equality objected to its creation, and the Society of Authors refused to support it.[3]

Winners

1995: Diran Adebayo, Some Kind of Black
1996: Joanna Traynor, Sister Josephine
1997: Judith Bryan, Bernard and the Cloth Monkey
1998: Ike Eze-Anyika, Canteen Culture

References

Mark Stein (2002). "Saga Prize". In Alison Donnell (ed.). Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture. Routledge. p. 270. ISBN 978-1-134-70025-7.
Margaret Busby Andrea Levy remembered, Royal Society of Literature. Accessed 6 July 2020.
Tracy J. Prince (2012). Culture Wars in British Literature: Multiculturalism and National Identity. McFarland. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-7864-6294-0.

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[Donnell2002-1] Mark Stein (2002). "Saga Prize". In Alison Donnell (ed.). Companion to Contemporary Black British Culture. Routledge. p. 270. ISBN 978-1-134-70025-7.

[2] Margaret Busby Andrea Levy remembered, Royal Society of Literature. Accessed 6 July 2020.

[Prince2012-3] Tracy J. Prince (2012). Culture Wars in British Literature: Multiculturalism and National Identity. McFarland. p. 153. ISBN 978-0-7864-6294-0.