Audible is backing the Joffe Books Prize to widen diversity in crime fiction writing by adding a £25,000 audiobook offer for the winner for the next three years.
The prize was launched last year by leading independent genre publisher Joffe Books ‘as a direct response to the paucity of diverse voices being published in crime fiction’.
The closing date for entries for this year’s contest has been extended until October 31, 2022.
It invites submissions from unagented authors from Black, Asian, indigenous and minority ethnic backgrounds, with the winner of the prize receiving a two-book publishing deal with Joffe Books and a £1,000 cash prize from the publisher.
They will also now be offered a £25,000 audiobook deal from Audible, which has extended that offer to last year’s prizewinner, Northumberland-based debut novelist Christie J Newport. The winner will also receive an editorial consultation with one of the judges and a two-year membership to the Society of Authors.
This year, the judging panel includes Oyinkan Braithwaite, award-winning author of My Sister, the Serial Killer, and Ella Diamond Kahn, co-founder and partner of the Diamond Kahn & Woods Literary Agency.
You can find out further details about how to enter the Joffe Prize 2022 on the Joffe Books website and read the terms and conditions on the T&C section of the website.
Emma Grundy Haigh, editorial director at Joffe Books, says: ‘I am thrilled by Audible’s commitment to not just our prize, but also to amplifying underrepresented voices.
‘Their involvement is game-changing — it promises to make this one of the most significant crime fiction prizes in the UK. Audible’s enthusiasm and advocacy has been evident right from the start.’
Aurelie de Troyer, senior vice-president of international English content at Audible, says: ‘We are passionate believers in the power of storytelling and want those stories to come from the widest possible range of people. We hope that our support will help set the winner on the path to a sustainable long-term writing career and look forward to giving them a well deserved platform in audio.’