‘A transcendent work of literature’: Derek Owusu wins Desmond Elliott Prize for That Reminds Me

Writer and poet Derek Owusu has won the prestigious Desmond Elliott Prize for new fiction for his coming-of-age “verse novel” That Reminds Me, it was announced today.

Praised by judges as a "transcendent work of literature", the novel scooped the £10,000 prize from a shortlist of three titles by Black writers, including The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré and Okechukwu Nzelu's The Private Joys of Nnenna Maloney.

Speaking shortly after the prize was announced, Owusu said: "Winning the Desmond Elliott Prize has given me the confidence to continue writing just when I needed it most, and seeded the idea that maybe there is space for writers like myself in the literary landscape of the UK."

That Reminds Me – published by Stormzy’s #Merky Books imprint – is a powerful, semi-autobiographical meditation on identity, belonging and mental health.