Each year, early career writers of migrant background are invited to apply for the Deborah Cass prize.
The prize is in the memory of Deborah Cass. The granddaughter of Jewish immigrants, Deborah Cass became a prize-winning professor of International Law at the London School of Economics. After diagnosis of cancer, Deborah left her academic career and focused on creative writing. She had a number of short fiction pieces published, but was unable to realise her aim to complete a novel. With generous support from family and friends, this prize aims to help someone outside the mainstream find a voice for themselves.
The winner receives a cash prize of $3,000 plus a three-month mentorship with an established writer. The winning manuscript will be presented to Black Inc. There is also the opportunity for publication of the winning excerpt in Mascara Literary Review.
Key dates
Applications for the 2019 prize have closed. You can view the shortlist on this page, and the winner will be announced at an awards ceremony in December 2019 - details are on the Deborah Cass Prize website.
If you have any queries about the prize, please don't hesitate to email us.
Past winners
2018
Karina Ko
2017
Rafeif Ismail
2016
Jean Bachoura
2015
Moreno Giovannoni