Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize Names Its 2026 Winners

Wasafiri, the magazine of international contemporary writing, has named the winners of the 2026 Queen Mary Wasafiri New Writing Prize: Nicole W Lee in poetry, Shamima Yasmine in fiction and Khazna Y Chami in life writing, according to its October 31 announcement.

Who can enter, and what winners get

Anyone in the world can enter, as long as they have not yet published a full-length book. Winners in each of the three categories get £1,000 and see their work in print, and eligible shortlisted writers are offered mentoring through The Literary Consultancy.

The three winning pieces will appear in print in Wasafiri's spring 2027 issue, number 129. The magazine says the other shortlisted pieces will run on its website over the coming months.

Ellah Wakatama, who chaired this year's prize, said the panel read entries from all over the world and across genres, and that they "were looking for ambition, originality, and urgency." Each judge then wrote about the winner in their own category.

Poetry: Nicole W Lee

Lee took the poetry prize with "宫 / Gong ghazitsu." Wasafiri says she was born in Sydney to Chinese Malaysian parents, went through the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson, and has had poems in Adroit Journal, AGNI, Meanjin and Shenandoah.

Mona Kareem, who judged poetry, called Lee's entry "a poem that refuses to stand still," and noted that since it moves between two languages, "each Chinese character tilts the line toward another meaning."

Fiction: Shamima Yasmine

Yasmine's winning story is "Dispatches Investigates." She came to fiction after working in government and at the UN, according to Wasafiri, and writes about growing up in Birmingham, UK.

Santanu Bhattacharya, the fiction judge, said the story takes material "that is dark and full of rage, and turns it on its head with uncharacteristic youthful spunk."

Life writing: Khazna Y Chami

Chami's winning piece is "Thinking Positively." Wasafiri lists her as a British Lebanese writer and researcher; she lives in the Midlands and did her PhD in Literary Practice at the University of Warwick.

Jen Calleja, the category judge, called the piece "dynamic and confident, weaving personal reflection with familial, national, and political histories," and liked its "clever choice of perspective," which she said casts the reader "as both antagonist and confidante."

Why it matters

Only writers without a first book can enter. For the three winners that now means cash and a spot in the spring issue, and for the eligible shortlist, mentoring.