About RSL presents: The Pioneer Prize
Join us for the launch of the RSL Pioneer Prize, a new initiative spotlighting and celebrating writers who have been trailblazers in their field.
Acknowledging the challenges faced by earlier generations of women writers, each year a woman writer over 60 who has shaped our literary landscape will be honoured. For its inaugural year the prize will honour Maureen Duffy, born in 1933, the poet, playwright, novelist, non-fiction writer and activist.
Throughout her career Duffy has been consistently groundbreaking. She has brought to light previously unspoken stories; articulated the unheard voices of women and working-class protagonists; created a Humanist Mass; and reaffirmed the legacy of Aphra Behn among countless other achievements. She has been a phenomenal advocate for author rights and LGBTQ+ rights, and at the forefront of making changes which are still felt today.
RSL President Bernardine Evaristo will be joined by writers Val McDermid, So Mayer and lecturers Elaine Hobby and Lawrence Warner. Together with chair, Bee Rowlatt they discuss Duffy's impact and legacy, and the power of amplifying older women writers’ voices.
This will be interspersed with readings from actor Rebecca Scroggs.
The RSL Pioneer Prize has been established thanks to the generosity of Evaristo, who has donated the cash prize of £100k from her Women's Prize Outstanding Contribution Award to fund it. The Prize, which will run for ten years from 2025, will spotlight ten living women writers over the age of 60, with each receiving £10,000.
Your support
The British Library is a charity. Your support helps us open up a world of knowledge and inspiration for everyone. Please consider adding a donation to your basket.
Arriving at the venue
This event takes place in the British Library Knowledge Centre. The doors will open at 13.30.
Please arrive no later than 15 minutes before the start time of this event. If you have specific access requirements please email customer@bl.uk
Attending the event online
If you book an online ticket, you will receive the viewing link on the morning of the event. You can either watch the event live or during the next 7 days on catch up.
Concessions
There are a range of concessions available. These include discounts for British Library Members, Young Persons (16–25s), and visitors on Universal/Pension Credit and free entry for carers.
Val McDermid
Val McDermid is a writer and broadcaster, best known for her crime fiction.
More
She has sold more than 19 million books to date across the globe and has been translated into more than 40 languages. Her multi-award-winning series and standalone novels have been adapted for television and radio. She co-founded the Harrogate Crime Writing Festival. Her latest Karen Pirie novel is Silent Bones.
So Mayer
So Mayer is a writer, bookseller, editor and organiser.
More
Their most recent book is Bad Language, a memoir and manifesto on language, gender and power, and their most recent collaborative projects are The Word for World: The Maps of Ursula K Le Guin (with Sarah Shin, Silver Press, 2025) and Catflap #5 for Outburst Queer Arts Festival.
Lawrence Warner
Lawrence Warner is Professor of Medieval English at Kings College, London where Maureen Duffy’s archive is held.
More
In 2023 he worked with Maureen Duffy to stage Missa Humana, a Humanist Mass, written by Duffy and set to music by Dolly Collins.
Elaine Hobby
Elaine Hobby is Professor Emirita of Seventeenth-Century Studies at Loughborough University and a scholar of early modern women’s writing.
More
She has worked with Maureen Duffy on shining a light on the work of Aphra Behn, the first professional woman writer in English.
Bee Rowlatt
Bee Rowlatt is a writer, British Library events producer, and chair of the Wollstonecraft Society.
More
One of the lead presenters on the BBC docuseries, Austen: Rise of a Genius, she also co-wrote the best-seller Talking about Jane Austen in Baghdad, which was dramatised by the BBC. Her Wollstonecraft-inspired travelogue In Search of Mary was a ‘biography of the year’ (Independent, 2015) and her novel One Woman Crime Wave (Renard, 2024) is described by crime queen Liz Nugent as 'beautifully written and very moving'.
You might also like
Ice: An Evening with Jacek Dukaj
Join author Jacek Dukaj as he discusses his novel Ice, a Trans-Siberian odyssey into an endless winter to confront something utterly alien.
An Evening with Andrzej Sapkowski
In conversation with the bestselling author of The Witcher.
Katherine Rundell on Fantasy and Maps
Multi-award-winning author Katherine Rundell will celebrate wondrous and mysterious maps in fiction in this student Q&A event.