Diana Souhami wins 2021 Polari prize

The wonderful Diana Souhami, author of so many witty, pithy and brilliant biographical works such as Gertrude and Alice, Greta and Cecil, and The Trials of Radclyffe Hall - has just won the Polari Prize in the UK for her most recent book: No Modernism Without Lesbians which explores Sylvia Beach, Bryher, Natalie Barney, Gertrude Stein - and many others. I loved this book and am thilled that it's won the 'overall book of the year'. The Polari prizes are: 'open to books of any genre that explore the LGBTQ+ experience. The Polari literary salon, which hosts the awards, was founded by author and journalist Paul Burston in 2007. Its name comes from the slang dialect gay men used to covertly communicate with each other before male homosexuality was legalised.' Unfortunately, from my point of view, submissions must be books published in the UK. The 'First Book' prize went to criminal barrister Mohsin Zaidi for his memoir A Dutiful Boy, which is the debut author's account of 'growing up gay in a devout Muslim household and being in denial about his sexuality'. You can learn more about the prize and previous winners here: https://www.thebookseller.com/news/polari-prize-opens-submissions-1243999 And, by the by, isn't that a gorgeous photo of Diana! It was copied from https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/oct/30/diana-souhami-wins-2021-polari-prize-for-no-modernism-without-lesbians

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