New northern voices: Black British writing and the devolving politics of prize culture

Abstract

ABSTRACT Representations of Black British life have long been concentrated in London. The capital occupies the centre of Britain’s post-imperial imaginary and its literary economy, with Manchester at the fore of attempts to address cultural inequalities, from George Osborne’s Northern Powerhouse agenda to regional outposts of the BBC and major publishers. Amidst increasing decentralizing momentum, this article proposes that literary awards are key in what James Procter and Corinne Fowler call the “devolution” of Black British writing. Focusing on Manchester’s Portico Prize for the book that “best evokes the spirit of the North of England”, I trace the award’s approach to “racial diversity” and “the North” since 1985, identifying a creative economy framework in which a “placed” literary northernness exists in tension with the centralized Black British discourse. Overall, this article suggests that literary awards articulate in new ways the spatial imbalances within Britain’s literary and political economies.