Ill and Disabled Voices in Writing

Photo by Dimitri Houtteman on Unsplash

  The Barbellion Prize is dedicated to the furtherance of ill and disabled voices in writing.

The prize is awarded annually to an author whose work has best spoken of the experience of chronic illness and/or disability.

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The awarded work can be of any genre in fiction, memoir, biography, poetry, or critical non-fiction from around the world - whether it is in English, in translation, traditionally published, or self-published.

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The prize is named in homage to English diarist W.N.P. Barbellion, who wrote eloquently on his life with multiple sclerosis (MS) before his death in 1919. It is to be awarded on February 12th 2021, with prize money amounting to £1000. Click here for more details and on how to submit your entry. 

Submissions are open now and end October 31st 2020.

Writing Prompt:

Barbellion wrote in his journal on a myriad of subjects: life, death, sex, illness, women, religion, to name but a few. When writing about 'Human Beings' he said: 

"The human spirit is unconquerable. You'll come through if you fight."

This seems particularly pertinent at the moment. Do you agree with him? Set a timer and write about it for seven minutes.

 

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