For over 100 years, City Lit has supported and empowered writers on their creative journeys. We understand the importance of opening doors to fresh and diverse perspectives in literature, which is why we created the Dame Malorie Blackman Unheard Voices Scholarship.
Now in its sixth year, the scholarship celebrates talented storytellers from underrepresented communities. It offers three annual awards of up to £1,000 to help emerging writers develop their craft at City Lit’s renowned Creative Writing Department. The winners are selected by City Lit alumna and bestselling author Dame Malorie Blackman OBE.
City Lit Fellow Dame Malorie Blackman
The former Children’s Laureate developed her unique voice as a writing student at City Lit. Since then, her multi-award-winning output has spanned novels, picture books and screenwriting.
Her works include the hugely popular teen dystopian saga, Noughts & Crosses, as well as the novels Boys Don’t Cry, Hacker and Pig-Heart Boy. As Doctor Who’s first non-white writer, she is a passionate advocate for showcasing fresh voices in storytelling. Dame Blackman is also a City Lit fellow and Patron of the School of Culture and Communication.
The winning writers
This year’s winners each bring a fresh perspective to fiction writing:
The Old Carpenter – Andrea Tode Jiménez
Nova Knows Nothing – Gerline Ndombasi
England, Your England – Surah ya Salaam
By celebrating these emerging talents, our scholarship highlights the importance of opening the door to diverse voices.
Malorie Blackman on this year's selection
‘Every year, selecting the winning entries from the submissions for the City Lit Scholarship scheme gets harder and harder because the quality of the submissions is just so good. It’s an agonising but incredibly enjoyable and fulfilling task to pick those who will receive the scholarships.
The submissions were challenging, funny, dangerous, thought-provoking, and most of all engaging. I hope that all those who submitted samples of their writing will continue to write, whether or not they receive a scholarship. To those who were not selected, don’t give up! And congratulations to those who receive the scholarships. May your writing go and grow from strength to strength.’
A legacy of of supporting and empowering writers
Since 1919, City Lit college has nurtured generations of diverse voices within a thriving creative community. Our alumni includes prominent novelists, poets and screenwriters, such as Booker Prize winner Anna Burns, bestselling novelist Andrea Levy, and acclaimed crime writer Jake Arnott.
City Lit Principal Mark Malcolmson CBE spoke about the impact of the scholarship and the continuing legacy of creative writing at City Lit:
‘This initiative celebrates and supports talented writers from underrepresented backgrounds, and we are honoured that Malorie once again personally selected this year’s recipients. This scholarship is more than just financial support — it’s a platform for new voices to be heard and nurtured. We’re incredibly proud of this initiative and excited to see where these writers’ journeys take them.’
About this year's talented winners
Andrea Tode Jiménez is a Spanish-Peruvian writer who grew up in Lima. She has previously worked as a columnist, journalist, content writer and editor. Andrea is currently writing her first novel in English and is hoping to develop it at City Lit.
Gerline Ndombasi is a playwright from South London. Her short plays have been performed across the city, including at Theatre503, Theatre Peckham and Arcola Theatre. Gerline plans to use her scholarship to study screenwriting.
Surah ya Salaam is a novelist based in London and a member of Brixton Writers Circle. She has been writing for over 10 years. After taking City Lit’s Advanced Fiction Writing course, she felt inspired to rework her short stories, resulting in one being published in The Hajar Book of Rage collection. She is looking forward to honing her craft further at City Lit.
Showcasing diverse perspectives
For six years now, City Lit’s Dame Malorie Blackman Scholarship has been shining a spotlight on underrepresented voices in literature. We’re incredibly proud to support these three gifted writers on their creative journeys and are looking forward to seeing what they do next.
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