Launched in 2022, the ADCI (Authors with Disabilities and Chronic Illnesses) Literary Prize seeks to encourage greater positive representation of disability in literature.
American-British author, Nicola Griffith has today (29 June) been announced as the inaugural winner of the ADCI Literary Prize for her seventh novel, Spear. It is a lyrical, queer reimagining of Arthurian legend, in which ‘those usually airbrushed from history take centre stage’.
Open to authors with a disability and/or chronic illness, the prize called for entries of novels which include a disabled or chronically ill character or characters. The ADCI Literary Prize has a prize fund of £2,000 with £1,250 going to the winner, Nicola Griffith and £750 to the runner up, Fiona Scott-Barrett for her novel, The Exit Facility.
Founded by author Penny Batchelor and publisher Clare Christian together with the Society of Authors, the prize is generously sponsored by Arts Council England, ALCS, the Drusilla Harvey Memorial Fund, and the Professional Writing Academy. More information can be found here.
Judge and founder of the prize, Penny Batchelor said:
Spear stood out on the shortlist for its lyrical storytelling, weaving myth, magic and a love of nature together to create a version of the Arthurian legend where those usually airbrushed from history take centre stage.
Judge Rowan Hisayo Buchanan said:
I was hugely impressed by this work. There is real ambition and fluidity to the writing. It represents a vast amount of research and yet it wears that research lightly. While there was much recognizable to anyone with a glancing knowledge of Arthurian legend, there was also much that felt new. Griffith combines pre-existing myths in inventive and delightful ways. The representation in this story is joyful – acknowledging what might cause a character to be seen as other but finding no shame in it.
About the Author
Nicola Griffith (she/her) is a dual UK/US citizen living in Seattle. She is the author of seven award-winning novels, including Hild and Ammonite, and her shorter work has appeared in Nature, New Scientist, The New York Times, etc. She is the founder and co-host of #CripLit, holds a PhD from Anglia Ruskin University, and enjoys a ferocious bout of wheelchair boxing. She is married to novelist and screenwriter Kelley Eskridge.
Spear is her seventh novel, a queer feminist retelling of the myth of Percival and the Holy Grail.
Get Involved
If you work in a library or workplace and would like to promote the prize, you can download a free digital pack from our shop.
The year’s winner, Nicola Griffith will be in conversation with author and freelance journalist Penny Batchelor to discuss her work and career and offer a glimpse into her creative routine on Thursday, 13 July as part of a virtual event open to all. Find out more here.
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