Jesus College is delighted to announce that, in collaboration with New College, it is supporting  Thinking Black’s 2022 Creative Writing Prize.

​Thinking Black, which was founded in 2017, seeks to equip Black British students with skills related to academic writing, creative writing, and public speaking. All of their programmes are led by Black British university students and graduates.

The competition launches in March 2022 and asks Black British Year 10 students to respond to a prompt using the form of writing with which they most engage. This year’s prompts are:

Folk Tales – African and Caribbean Writing

Windrush – Post-War Migration Literature

The Diaspora – Contemporary Black British Writing

Writing Fundamentals – Poetry, Prose & Drama

Dr Matt Williams, Jesus College’s Access Fellow, says “We are delighted to be working with Thinking Black and New College on this new creative writing prize. It is essential that the University of Oxford and its colleges work towards widening participation of black British students in higher education. Thinking Black do such tremendous work with young students and it is our privilege to support them.”

Director of Thinking Black, Hope Oloye, says,

‘We’re so glad to be launching our new Creative Writing Prize in partnership with New College and Jesus College. The programme provides young Black students across the country with the opportunity to attend high-level lectures, access diverse works of Black literature, and formulate written responses. Students will be rewarded for their work with cash prizes and publication in an online anthology. We can’t wait to get started!’