Thrilled to announce that ‘What Girls Do in the Dark’, my poetry collection with Nine Arches Press, has been shortlisted for the Polari Prize 2021, the UK’s only literary award for LGBTQ+ literature.

It’s a huge honour!

The Polari Prize 2021 shortlist:
• Dragman - Steven Appleby (Vintage)
• The Air Year - Caroline Bird (Carcanet)
• The Intoxicating Mr Lavelle - Neil Blackmore (Windmill)
• What Girls Do in the Dark - Rosie Garland (Nine Arches Press)
• The Ministry of Guidance - Golnoosh Nour (Muswell Press)
• No Modernism Without Lesbians - Diana Souhami (Head of Zeus)

Author, Polari Prize founder and Chair of Judges, Paul Burston said: “ This year’s shortlists are our most diverse ever, with a wide variety of writers working across different genres to explore the intersections between sexuality, gender, race, class, religion and more. These 12 remarkable books include tales of resilience and celebration, love and pride, exploring the LGBTQ+ experience with emotional honesty, humour, passion and joy.”

https://fmcm.co.uk/news/polari-prize-2021-shortlists-announced

Thrilled to be nominated for The Polari Prize 2021, for 'What Girls Do in the Dark'.

And such a stellar list, too!

The Polari Prize 2021 Longlists
Now in its tenth year, the Polari Prize is the UK’s first and largest LGBTQ+ book award. Established to promote writing that explores the LGBTQ+ experience, Polari also focuses on amplifying diverse voices through a series of literary events, including the regularly touring Polari Salon.

https://www.waterstones.com/category/cultural-highlights/book-awards/the-polari-prize

I’m thrilled to announce that Val McDermid has selected me as one of the 10 most compelling LGBTQI+ writers working in the UK today!

Val said: “These writers are writing for everyone. These are not words for a niche readership. These are not writings for a ghetto. These are the works of writers who have something to say that can be – and should be – heard by as many people as possible.”

She continued: “Auden was wrong when he claimed “poetry makes nothing happen”. Words do change the world, reader by reader. They open our eyes, they provoke thought. The work of these 10 writers… will awaken in us fresh delight in the wonder of words.”

The list was commissioned by the National Centre for Writing and British Council, supported by Arts Council England as part of a two-year programme to promote writing from the UK to an international audience. It also includes the amazing Colette Bryce, Juno Dawson, Juliet Jacques, Keith Jarrett, Kirsty Logan, Andrew McMillan, Fiona Mozley, Mary Paulson-Ellis & Luke Turner.

The Guardian - The Word Is Out. Val McDermid selects Britain's 10 most outstanding lgbtq writers

Polari Literary Salon / Bona to Vada your Dolly old Eek! Double bill

Fri, 22 November 2019
King Edward Street Chapel
4 King Edward Street
Macclesfield
SK10 1AB

An exclusively bona double bill from some of the best-known names in LGBT+ writing and performance in the beautifully intimate surroundings of King Edward Street Chapel. Troll on in!
Polari Literary Salon with Paul Burston
London’s award-winning LGBT+ literary salon comes to LIT. Founded in 2007 by author Paul Burston, Polari showcases the best in emerging and established LGBT+ literary talent. Named Best Cultural Event in the Co-Op Respect Loved by You Awards 2013, the salon is based at London’s Southbank Centre and also tours regularly. Tonight’s event is programmed and hosted by Burston, with guest performers including award-winning authors Rosie Garland, VG Lee and Okechukwu Nzelu.
Bona to Vada your Dolly old Eek! with Jez Dolan
Take a troll, stretch your lallies, vada the omipalones and enter the bijou world of Polari artist Jez Dolan. With music, art, and a liberal sprinkling of performing stardust, Jez creates a unique and original show using Polari as his inspiration.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/polari-literary-salon-bona-to-vada-your-dolly-old-eek-double-bill-tickets-77170074771

https://litmacc.org/

Polari

The Southbank Centre,
Belvedere Road,
London SE1 8XX

Time: 7.30 start
Level 5, Function Room

Tickets: £5 (concessions £2.50)

Rosie Garland heads the bill.
Plus Helen Humphries, SJ Naude, Carl Stanley and Talim Arab

Rosie Garland reads from her second novel, Vixen.
Described as poetic, sexy and deeply moving, Vixen finds a natural home with Polari audiences. It's a tale of superstition and devotion in the time of the Black Death.
Garland is joined by Helen Humphries, Talim Arab, Carl Stanley and SJ Naudé.

Polari is London's celebrated literary den showcasing new and established queer talent across literature and spoken word. Resident at Southbank Centre, the award-winning LGBT salon was described by the Huffington Post in 2014 as 'The most exciting literary movement in London... crackling with energy, ideas and excitement'.
Polari is curated and hosted by author and journalist Paul Burston and won 'LGBT Cultural Event of the Year' in the Co-op Respect 'Loved By You' Awards 2013.
Level 5 Function Room at Royal Festival Hall
Please note that Polari contains adult themes. For ages 18+
Book Tickets Now
http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whatson/polari-230615-89943?dt=2015-06-23

Click to go to Polari website

PRAISE FOR POLARI

"The most exciting literary movement in London... crackling with energy, ideas, excitement" – Huffington Post

Winner 'LGBT Cultural Event of the Year' in the Co-operative Respect 'Loved by You' Awards 2013

Winner 'Golden Kitty Award' for 'Best UK Event (Local)' 2013

"Always fun, always thought-provoking – a guaranteed good night out" – Sarah Waters

Huddersfield Literature Festival

When: Saturday 7 March
Time: 7.45pm (doors 7pm)
Venue: Byram Arcade,
Westgate, Huddersfield,
Yorkshire HD1 1ND

In partnership with The Blue Rooms, which will remain open for refreshments during the evening.
Tickets priced at £5 (£2.50 conc) are now on sale from the Lawrence Batley Theatre box office (www.thelbt.org; 01484 430 528).

Exciting, thought provoking, moving, funny: Polari is all these things and more – and it's making a welcome return to Huddersfield. Hosted by award-winning journalist and novelist, Paul Burston, Polari showcases the work of LGBT novelists, short story writers and poets, and has a broad appeal to anyone who enjoys an entertaining night out with excellent performers.

Festival Director Michelle Hodgson said: "We were delighted to have the opportunity to host the first ever Polari in the north and we're thrilled that Paul Burston will be returning with a new set of authors for HLF2015. Polari Up North was one of the highlights of this year's festival and we are looking forward to another highly entertaining evening of performances next March."

The performers for 2015 are:
Rosie Garland – Born in London to a runaway teenager, Rosie is a novelist and poet, sings in post-punk band The March Violets and performs twisted cabaret as Rosie Lugosi the Vampire Queen.

VG Lee – Critically acclaimed author of four novels and a collection of short stories, VG Lee recently won the Ultimate Planet Award for Best Author 2014 and is a regular contributor to The Lady Magazine.

Diriye Osman – A British-Somali short story writer, essayist, critic and visual artist, Diriye Osman won the 2014 Polari First Book Prize with his critically acclaimed debut, Fairytales For Lost Children.

Gerry Potter – Currently touring his new book of autobiographical theatre verse, The Chronicles of Folly Butler, Gerry Potter has been wowing audiences nationally with his own unique brand of domestic-fantastic free verse.

Polari
"The most exciting literary movement in London... crackling with energy, ideas, excitement" – Huffington Post
"Always fun, always thought-provoking – a guaranteed good night out" – Sarah Waters
Click to go to Huddersfield Literature Festival site

Winner of the Mslexia Novel Competition 2012, longlisted for The Desmond Elliott Prize 2013 and the Polari First Prize for First Book 2014. It was also winner of the Cooperative Bank 'Loved By You' LGBT Book of the Year 2013.

"Gentlemen and Ladies! You have come on a very special evening. How happy I am to welcome you to this Palace of Curiosities on such an auspicious occasion. What luck! What serendipity! For tonight we have mirth! Wit! And Jollity! We humbly offer for your discernment Wonder Unparalleled, Incredible Feats of Daring. Step inside for The Wonders of the Age! See The Lion-Faced Woman and The Marsyas of Modern Times, Star Attractions at Professor Arroner's Astonishing Marvels!"

The Palace of Curiosities: UK / Commonwealth all formats available (hardback, paperback, audio, ebook)

Read reviews here:

"Fabulously strange historical debut... a romp filled with sheer demented fun." - Suzi Feay

'The Palace of Curiosities is a jewel-box of a novel, with page after page, scene after scene, layer after layer of treats and surprises. Garland is a real literary talent: definitely an author to watch.' – Sarah Waters

'Garland's lush prose is always a pleasure.' – The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/apr/06/palace-of-curiosities-review

'Garland has woven an alternately brutal and beautiful story about love and belonging in a vividly conveyed underworld, rich in carny phantasmagoria and lyrical romance.' – The Metro
http://metro.co.uk/2013/03/27/3560891-3560891/

'The bewitching Palace of Curiosities will appeal to fans of Angela Carter & magic realism alike.' - Good Housekeeping

'Fantastic... It's an intriguing tale in which the narrative deftly alternates between the two lead characters, drawing readers ever deeper into a world that is horrifying and dazzling but seems every bit as real as our own.' – Creative Tourist
https://www.creativetourist.com/articles/reading-and-writing/liverpool/in-the-land-of-publishing-persistence-is-king-rosie-garland-gets-a-break/

'Garland has produced a fascinating and delightful book. A cross between Philip Pullman and Angela Carter, she takes us on an evocative and wonderful journey full of magical delights and stunning set pieces... she made me gasp with the audacity of her ideas and smile with the light beauty of her prose.' - GScene
https://issuu.com/gscene/docs/gscene_jun13?e=1754316/5558671

'The characters are fascinating, and Victorian London is vividly captured, and of course the language sparkles like sharp-cut jewels.' – Elizabeth Baines
http://elizabethbaines.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/rosie-garlands-launch-of-palace-of.html?spref=fb

'A stunning piece of work, with strong themes of identity, acceptance of the Other, and a touchingly unique love story between two fabulous main characters. I wouldn't be surprised if this is the benchmark against which the rest of this year's debuts will have to measure themselves.' – GoodReads
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/454021227

About the novel

Before Eve is born, her mother goes to the circus. She buys a penny twist of coloured sugar and perches on the edge of her seat to watch the heart-stopping main attraction: a lion, billed as a monster from the savage heart of Africa, forged in the heat of a merciless sun. Mama swears she hears the lion sigh, just before it leaps... and nine months later when Eve is born, the story goes, she doesn't cry – she meows and licks her paws.
When Abel is pulled from the stinking Thames, the mudlarks are sure he is long dead. As they search his pockets to divvy up the treasure, his eyes crack open and he coughs up a stream of black water. But how has he survived a week in that thick stew of human waste?
Cast out by Victorian society, Eve and Abel find succour from an unlikely source. They soar to fame as The Lion Faced Girl and The Flayed Man, star performers in Professor Josiah Arroner's Palace of Curiosities.
Set in 1850s London, this is the story of Eve and Abel; both freaks of nature searching for escape. It explores what it's like to be different, and traces their struggle for self-discovery on the boundaries of what is perceived as human.