RSL Ondaatje Prize
The annual award of £10,000 for a distinguished work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry, evoking the spirit of a place.
RSL Ondaatje Prize 2019
We are now closed for submissions. The winner will be announced in May.
The 2019 judges are Sabrina Mahfouz, Michèle Roberts and Ian Thomson.
RSL Ondaatje Prize 2018
The winner of the 2018 RSL Ondaatje Prize was Pascale Petit for Mama Amazonica (Bloodaxe Books). This is the first time poetry has won the Prize. Please read the RSL Ondaatje – Winner Press Release 2018 for more information.
I’m absolutely thrilled to win this particular prize for a book evoking the spirit of a place. I’ve been obsessed with the Amazon rainforest for 25 years, and I poured that obsession into Mama Amazonica.
Pascale Petit
Press enquiries should be sent to Annette Brook, Communications Manager: annette@rsliterature.org or call 020 7845 4680.
Past Awards
| 2018 | Pascale Petit | Mama Amazonica |
| 2017 | Francis Spufford | Golden Hill |
| 2016 | Peter Pomerantsev | Nothing Is True and Everything Is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia |
| 2015 | Justin Marozzi | Baghdad: City of Peace, City of Blood |
| 2014 | Alan Johnson | This Boy |
| 2013 | Philip Hensher | Scenes from Early Life |
| 2012 | Rahul Bhattacharya | The Sly Company of People Who Care |
| 2011 | Edmund de Waal | The Hare with Amber Eyes |
| 2010 | Ian Thomson | The Dead Yard: Tales of Modern Jamaica |
| 2009 | Adam Nicolson | Sissinghurst: An Unfinished History |
| 2008 | Graham Robb | The Discovery of France |
| 2007 | Hisham Matar | In the Country of Men |
| 2006 | James Meek | The People’s Act of Love |
| 2005 | Rory Stewart | The Places In Between |
| 2004 | Louisa Waugh | Hearing Birds Fly |
