Sabrin Hasbun, Dariia Lysiuk, Roxana Shirazi, Steve Tasane and Simon Weisz have been shortlisted for the inaugural Footnote x Counterpoints Writing Prize, for writers from refugee or migrant backgrounds.
The five shortlisted authors will read and discuss their work at a live event hosted by the Southbank Centre on 11th February as part of the literature spring season 2024. The event will be chaired by poet and performer Arji Manuelpillai.
The writers will reflect on themes of displacement, identity and resistance both in their selected works and more broadly
Hasbun is in the running with Wait For Her and Lysiuk is shortlisted for Notes of a Guilty Survivor. Shirazi’s Dead Iranian Girl and Tasane’s Spitting Bricks are also on the shortlist, alongside Weisz’s Resolution.
The £15,000 prize was set up to showcase and celebrate exceptional non-fiction writers from refugee and migrant backgrounds, and to shine a new light on some of the most pertinent topics shaping our lives and society.
The winner and two runners-up will be announced in March, selected by a judging panel comprising celebrated writers Elif Shafak, Philippe Sands and Dina Nayeri.
