Sky Arts RSL Writers Awards
Celebrating and nurturing British writers of colour at the beginnings of their careers.
History
Presented for the first time in 2021, the Sky Arts RSL Writers Awards focused on discovering and nurturing talented emerging writers of colour, working across different literary forms. The scheme was developed in order to counteract the underrepresentation of British writers of colour.
Each year in 2021 and 2022, five winners received ten mentoring sessions over the course of 12 months with an RSL Fellow writing in their form, as well as two sessions with Sky Arts Ambassador Bernardine Evaristo.
Watch winners Christina Fonthes, Sarah Isaac and Kim Squirrell discuss their experience of the awards, along with Bernardine’s insights into why these Awards were necessary in a video created by Sky and Method in Motion celebrating the programme.
Presented for the first time in 2021, the Sky Arts RSL Writers Awards focused on discovering and nurturing talented emerging writers of colour, working across different literary forms. The initiative was developed to counteract the underrepresentation of British writers of colour.
We’re grateful to Sky Arts for supporting this programme for two years, and are now seeking a new funder for the future.
If you may be interested in providing financial support for the awards, please get in touch via [email protected]
Past Winners
2022
Fiction: Kim Squirrell, mentored by Nadifa Mohamed
Non-Fiction: Sabrina Mahtani mentored by Nikesh Shukla
Playwriting: Hannah Shury-Smith, mentored by Inua Ellams
Poetry: Zainab Imran, mentored by Jay Bernard
Screenwriting: Jenna Al-Ansari, mentored by Vinay Patel
2021
Fiction: Christina Fonthes, mentored by Irenosen Okojie
Non-Fiction: Clementine E Burnley, mentored by Colin Grant
Playwriting: Sarah Isaac, mentored by Roy Williams
Poetry: Pey Oh, mentored by Pascale Petit
Screenwriting: Adiza Shardow, mentored by Tanika Gupta
Playlist
More from Awards and Prizes
Become a Member
Our Members are champions of literature. Their support makes our engagement work in schools and prisons possible and they enable us to celebrate literature in all its wonderful diversity. As a thank you, we give them all the joys of a literary festival and book club rolled into one, all year round.