University of Glasgow: New Kavya Prize Announces Shortlist

The shortlist for a new Scottish literary prize celebrating published work by Scottish writers of colour has been announced today.

The Kavya Prize, in association with the University of Glasgow and founded by Indian-born Scottish author Leela Soma, seeks to recognise, and encourage writers of colour who are Scottish by birth, residence or formation.

The inaugural prize for full-length published works of fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry or short story collections will be awarded at Aye Write on Saturday 21 May 2022 and is worth £1000.

Kavya is a popular and well recognised word in Sanskrit and refers to a literary style or a completed body of literature that was used in Indian courts of the Maharajahs who nurtured the cultural arts in India.

The shortlist for the Kavya Prize 2022 is:

Katie Goh, writer and journalist – The End: Surviving the World Through Imagined Disasters (404 Ink)
Hannah Lavery, poet and playwright – Lament for Sheku Bayoh (Salamander Street)
Uma Nada-Rajah, playwright – Toy Plastic Chicken (Salamander Street)
David Onamade, a writer of poetry and prose, who sadly passed away in 2021 – Sorrow, Tears and Blood (Arkbound Publishing)
Sean Wai Keung, writer and performance maker – Sikfan Glaschu (Verve Poetry Press)
Lorraine Wilson, writer – This is Our Undoing (Luna Press)
The Kavya Prize 2022 Judges are:

Leila Aboulela, a fiction writer of Sudanese origin who now lives in Scotland.
Professor Bashabi Fraser, CBE, Scottish-Indian poet, children’s writer, critic and academic
Tawona Sithole, a Zimbabwean-born writer, poet, musician and performer who now lives in Scotland and is an Artist in Residence at the University of Glasgow.
Speaking about the calibre of the entries and the Kavya Prize 2022 shortlist, Judge Leila Aboulela said: “Those that have been shortlisted are a testament to the brilliant range of skills, boldness and talent on offer from Scotland’s writers of colour.”