Founded in 2007, Polari is the UK's leading live showcase for emerging and established LGBTQ+ literary talent.

We also run the Polari Prize awards for books which explore LGBTQ+ themes and characters, by writers born or based in the UK and Ireland. This year's winners were announced on November 24 at The British Library.

The next call for submissions will be in March 2024. Please wait for the announcement before contacting us. 

Curated and hosted by author Paul Burston, Polari has appeared at arts centres, bars, book festivals, book shops, libraries, museums, nightclubs and even a race course.

We also tour regularly, funded by Arts Council England. The Polari Prize National Showcase runs until Nov 2024.

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