The Barbellion Prize is a British literary award "dedicated to the furtherance of ill and disabled voices in writing". It is awarded annually to a writer, in any genre, who has a chronic illness or is living with a disability. The prize was founded in 2020 by Jake Goldsmith, who has

cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine. Long-term issues include difficulty breathing and coughing up mucus as a result of frequent lung infections. O ...

and whose memoir ''Neither Weak nor Obtuse'' was published in 2022 by Sagging Meniscus Books (). It is named after the pseudonymous

W. N. P. Barbellion Wilhelm Nero Pilate Barbellion was the pen name of Bruce Frederick Cummings (7 September 1889 – 22 October 1919), an English diary, diarist who was responsible for ''The Journal of a Disappointed Man''. Ronald Blythe called it "among the most m ...

(1889-1919; real name Bruce Frederick Cummings), the author of '' The Journal of a Disappointed Man'', who had

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

and died at the age of 30. The prize is international and is open to new translations into English, and to self-published works, but not to unpublished work. Eligibility is "predicated on the author's presentation of life with a long-term chronic illness or disability ... that may substantially define one's life", and "Authors - such as those in a carer's capacity - who themselves are not disabled may be considered for the prize if their work is truly exceptional as an articulation of life with illness" but they will be given lower priority. The winner receives £1,000, a glass trophy, and a copy of Barbellion's ''The Journal of a Disappointed Man''.

Winners

2020

* ''Golem Girl: a memoir'' by the artist

Riva Lehrer Riva Lehrer (born in 1958 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is an American painter, writer, teacher, and speaker. Lehrer was born with spina bifida and has undergone numerous surgeries throughout her life. Her work focuses on issues of physical identity and ...

, who has

spina bifida Spina bifida (Latin for 'split spine'; SB) is a birth defect in which there is incomplete closing of the spine and the membranes around the spinal cord during early development in pregnancy. There are three main types: spina bifida occulta, me ...

(

Virago A virago is a woman who demonstrates abundant masculine virtues. The word comes from the Latin word ''virāgō'' ( genitive virāginis) meaning vigorous' from ''vir'' meaning "man" or "man-like" (cf. virile and virtue) to which the suffix ''-ā ...

, )

2021

* ''What Willow Says'' by Lynn Buckle, who is Deaf: a novel about a deaf child and her grandmother and their use of

sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers. Sign l ...

( Époque Press, )

2022

* ''Book of Hours: An Almanac for The Seasons of The Soul'' by Letty McHugh, who has

. The book is self-published and available online.

References

External links

* British literary awards 2020 establishments in the United Kingdom Awards established in 2020 Literary awards honoring writers Disability culture {{disability-stub