'A Sense of Meaning': Q&A with Ellah Wakatama

In this interview with Ellah Wakatama, Chair of the Judges of the 2026 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize, she discusses the role of prizes in the current literary landscape, the importance of translated literature, and the qualities that make a creative work stand out for her.

The 2026 Prize is open for submissions until 30 June 2026. Submit your work here.

As well as your role as this year’s Chair for the Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize, you’re also the Chair of the Caine Prize for African Writing. How do you think these prizes support and nurture new and emerging writers and writing? 

There are two important things for the writer. Money – provided the purse is decent – which buys time to imagine and to write (let’s not forget that writers need to eat too!). The second thing is the publishing machine. On a wider level, the cultural impact that literary prizes have is an essential cog in that machine, recognising and amplifying excellence, and providing readers with a route to discovery. In an industry that too often chases a way to replicate the most popular, prizes such as the Caine [Prize for African Writing] and the Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize present readers with an opportunity to experience work that is truly new and innovative, to travel beyond the confines of their immediate realities. There’s magic in that alone! 

The Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize very recently opened to works in translation last year, since its founding in 2009. Why is it important to read literature in translation?  

As a Shona-speaking, Zezuru person from Zimbabwe, I am already, every day, reading and living in translation in some sense. Even with a mastery of the language, there are the cultural, religious, and societal languages that one must decode or intuit to understand a work. Opening up prizes to translation allows the reader a glimpse into another world, other ways of thinking, and, ultimately, a deeper belief in our shared humanity. If, as Baldwin said, you write to change the world, then translation is a powerful vehicle towards that change. 

You have worked as an editor at several major publishing houses. How do you know when you’ve found a great piece of writing? 

My first, and I believe the most important, response to a piece of writing is emotional. How does that make me feel? If I am elated by the prose style, captivated by the characters, and challenged by the themes ... then I am probably hooked. There is so much that goes into the consideration of a piece: how does it fit alongside the other works on the list, do we know how to reach the desired readers, how many copies can we sell. All are important considerations in the business of publishing. As a commissioning editor, I am looking for that book I have not read before, the essay that feels timely and urgent, the memoir with an innovative structure and lyrical prose ... if I am still awake reading at two in the morning and I keep forgetting to breathe ... then I know. It doesn’t happen often enough! 

What are your thoughts on the relevance and role of literary prizes in the contemporary literary landscape? 

As outlined above, I firmly believe literary prizes are essential. Done well, with integrity and the celebration of writers at the centre of all, prizes provide an archive of our culture/s, a chance to introduce new voices, and an opportunity for the judges to curate a reading list that will extend the reach of the work. 

What will you be looking for – in terms of both formal quality and personal touch – in this year’s entries? 

I approach judging a prize as a collaborative process: I love being persuaded by the passion of colleagues, having my mind changed and expanded. So much of the criteria will depend on my fellow judges. But I will, personally, be after what I am always after: innovation in form and approach, meticulous crafting, and a sense of meaning (does the work feel urgent, relevant, and necessary?). I am also keen to find work that is firmly and vividly rooted in place — and beautiful sentences! 

What advice would you offer to writers at the start of their careers?   

Read. And read. Look out the window and dream. Read some more ... and then start to write. 

What books being published this year are you most looking forward to reading, and why?  

It’s very hard not to list books I am publishing myself — I publish the books I want to read! Of these, I would encourage readers to pick up copies of the novels by Yassmin Abdel-Magied, Tahmima Anam, and I O Echeruo that have all come out this spring. 

I am delighted that Anne Leckie has a new book in her space opera series, and I am currently reading Radiant Star. Ainehi Edhoro, a critic and activist I admire hugely, has a new book titled Forest Imaginaries: How African Novels Think which I look forward to for the clarity and innovation with which this scholar approaches every project. Departure(s) by Julian Barnes, Colson Whitehead’s Cool Machine ... my TBR is always ridiculous, but most of all, I am looking for that unexpected recommendation that will transport me.

Cover image: Debby Hudson on Unsplash