Win the Jhalak Prize or Jhalak Children's & YA Prize shortlists

Jhalak Prize shortlists 2023

We're celebrating the best writing by British and British resident writers of colour!

It's the seventh year of the Jhalak Prize and the third for the Jhalak Children's & YA Prize. The twelve shortlisted books explore a kaleidoscope of themes through inventive narratives, and range across multiple genres; from fiction, memoir and poetry to illustrated picture books and young adult fiction. We have a set of each shortlist for two lucky winners to discover – just choose whether you'd love to receive the Jhalak Prize shortlist, the Jhalak Children's & YA Prize shortlist, or either!

Jhalak Prize Shortlist 2023

  • None of the Above by Travis Alabanza

  • Takeaway by Angela Hui

  • The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho by Paterson Joseph

  • When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo

  • I'm a Fan by Sheena Patel

  • Hiding to Nothing by Anita Pati

Jhalak Children's & YA Prize Shortlist 2023

  • In Our Hands by Lucy Farfort

  • When Our Worlds Collided by Danielle Jawando

  • Mia and the Lightcasters by Janelle McCurdy, ill. Ana Latese

  • Ellie Pillai is Brown by Christine Pillainayagam 

  • Rebel Skies by Anna Sei Lin

  • Dadaji's Paintbrush by Rashmi Sirdeshpande, ill. Ruchi Mhasane


This competition has now closed and the winners are announced below. 

Congratulations to Helen and Sandra!

Helen and Sandra have each won a Jhalak Prize shortlist of their choice.

Helen said, "When We Were Birds is the one I’m most looking forward to, so that will be top of the reading pile."

Sandra said, "I am excited about receiving the books from the shortlist. I honestly don't know which one I'm going to read first, they all look great!"

Plus, find out more about our work with the Jhalak Prize and this year's Prize winners!


Win a shortlist of your choice

This competition ended on 18/05/2023

Terms and Conditions

2 x winners will each receive one set of the following shortlists:

The Jhalak Prize 2023 shortlist: 

  • None of the Aboveby Travis Alabanza
  • Takeaway by Angela Hui
  • The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho by Paterson Joseph
  • When We Were Birds by  Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
  • I’m a Fan by Sheena Patel
  • Hiding to Nothing by Anita Pati

The Jhalak Children’s & Young Adult Prize 2023 shortlist:

  • In Our Hands by Lucy Farfort
  • When Our Worlds Collided by Danielle Jawando
  • Mia And The Lightcasters by Janelle McCurdy, ill. Ana Latese
  • Ellie Pillai Is Brown by Christine Pillainayagam
  • Rebel Skies by Ann Sei Lin
  • Dadaji’s Paintbrush by Rashmi Sirdeshpande, ill. Ruchi Mhasane
  • By entering this competition, you also agree to the Caboodle Terms and Conditions and Caboodle Points Terms and Conditions.
  • Closing date: 11:59pm, Thursday 18th May 2023.
  • No purchase necessary.
  • Only one entry per person will be accepted. Entrants may not win more than one prize.
  • The competition is open to residents of the United Kingdom, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, and Republic of Ireland except employees of the Booksellers Association and Book Tokens Ltd., their families, employees of participating bookshops, and anyone else connected with this promotion.
  • Entrants must be aged 16 or over.
  • The Promoter accepts no responsibility for entries that are incomplete, illegible, incorrect, corrupted or fail to reach the Promoter by the closing date for any reason. Automatically generated entries or entries via third parties are invalid and shall not be considered.
  • Entrants agree to the Promoter using their details in post-competition publicity. Your details will not be used for any other purpose, or passed onto any third parties, unless specified. Winners’ details may be shared securely with a third party (such as the publisher) in order to fulfil the dispatch of competition prizes.
  • Entrants will automatically collect 5 Caboodle Points. Find out more about How Caboodle Works.
  • The prizes are non-transferable and there are no cash alternatives, and are subject to availability. The Promoter reserves the right to amend the specification of the prize or offer an alternative prize. In exceptional circumstances, the Promoter reserves the right to foreclose the competition without notice.
  • If National Book Tokens gift cards or e-Gift cards are included in the prize, they can be spent in participating bookshops. Find out more.
  • If signed copies are included in the prize, books will either be signed directly by the author/illustrator(s) or signed bookplates will be provided (either separately or stuck in the book).
  • The Promoter will choose winners at random from all qualifying entries.
  • The Promoter will contact winners by email shortly after the closing date. In the event of a winner not responding after 14 days, the Promoter reserves the right to allocate the prize to another winner, or foreclose the prize. Unsuccessful entrants will not be contacted.
  • The Promoter accepts no responsibility for winners not receiving the Promoter’s communications due to their spam filter, accidental deletion, incorrect email provided, or for any other reason. In the event of this, the Promoter is unable to provide compensation.
  • The Promoter accepts no responsibility for winners not receiving their prize once it has been dispatched. On a case-by-case basis, the Promoter will do their best to compensate the winner but regretfully this may not always be possible.
  • The Promoter’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
  • The Promoter will only use your email address and other personal information as outlined in our privacy policy.
  • Promoter: Book Tokens Ltd, 6 Bell Yard, London, WC2A 2JR.

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