Awarded annually, the Jhalak prize was set up in 2016 to find the best writers of colour in the UK. 2018’s line-up is astonishing in its scope. We’re delighted to be joined by three of their finest long-and short-listed authors: Meena Kandasamy, Xiaolu Guo and Leone Ross, who will be itereviewed by Catherine Johnson, Jhalak Prize judge, to discuss their extraordinary pieces of work and the importance of the prize in today’s writing landscape. 

Leone Ross’ raucous collection of short stories, Come Let us Sing Anyway, range from richly extended stories to intense pieces of flash fiction, set between Jamaica and Britain, in a world where anything can happen.

Meena Kandasamy’s second novel, When I Hit You, chronicles an abusive marriage and celebrates the invincible power of art: it is a smart, fierce and courageous take on wedlock in modern India.

Xiaolu Guo’s memoir, Once upon a time int eh East, charts Xiaolou’s journey from a run-down shack to film school in a rapidly changing China to life in Britain. An extraordinary tale of East meets West.