London based book shop Foyles is to partner with The Green Carnation Prize for the next two years, as the competition continues to grow.

The prize is awarded to LGBT writers for any form of the written word, and has a reputation for championing writers from the UK. This year the prize will also encompass works of translation and see Foyles offer event space in their shop to host the award ceremony and public events celebrating the prize

Simon Heafield, Communications Manager for Foyles said: ‘In its short history, the Prize has already established itself as a dependable marque of quality, bringing new readers to books that really deserve to be more widely known. Among the many literary prizes that have done little to move with the times, the Green Carnation stands out as one destined to become one of the highlights of the literary calendar.”

Simon Savidge, Honorary Director and co-founder of the Green Carnation, added: ‘Both we and Foyles have a clear vision to bring readers the best published LGBT writing available in the UK both in print and in person. With some great events celebrating long-listed authors, winners past and future, plus LGBT’s literary history which is sometimes forgotten, it is a very exciting time for the prize.’

Last year’s prize was won by Andrew Solomon, with Far From The Tree, a book about exceptional children that celebrates what it means to be human in all its diversity. The prize was founded in 2010 by author Paul Magrs and journalist and blogger Simon Savidge, who remains Honorary Director, after Paul tweeted about the ‘scandalous lack of prizes for gay men’ in the UK. It is named after the green carnation historically sometimes worn as an emblem of homosexuality, and is a tribute to Oscar Wilde who often carried one on his lapel.