The Barbellion Prize - Something New and Wonderful!
It will probably come as no surprise to anyone that I watch LOTS of YouTube videos about books. I discovered BookTube (as they call the many YouTube videos created by and for booklovers) thanks to my dad. I probably inherited my love for books from him. He loved books and was an avid reader, especially later in his life. He was also very intelligent and curious. He loved to learn every day of his life. If I remember right, he mentioned BookTube during maybe two or three visits I made to him and my mom. It was a day that he showed me some of his favorites that I decided to check it out for myself when I got home. I did and I was hooked!
I now subscribe to several BookTubers and watch them regularly. I’ll probably talk about some of them here now and then. One of my favorites is Jen Campbell. She is an author and book reviewer who lives in England (in or near London I think). She is also “disabled”. (I really hate that word to describe people. They aren’t disabled. But that’s a topic for another day.) Her channel is unique, and I think interesting, because she shines a light on what “disabled” means in her life and the life of other writers. She seeks out, reads, and talks about books written by “disabled” or chronically ill authors, and it’s fascinating.
In her most recent video, Jen talks about the longlist for a book prize I didn’t know existed - the Barbellion Prize. It was founded recently, in 2020. On their website, they state that they look for work that looks at:
. . . life with a long-term chronic illness or disability, whether that be in the form of blindness, MS, cystic fibrosis, dwarfism, or another comparable condition that may substantially define one’s life.
Authors - such as those in a carer's capacity - who themselves are not disabled may be considered for the prize if their work is truly exceptional as an articulation of life with illness, but authors who themselves deal personally with illness or disability will take priority in any selection for the prize.
. . . What is important to us is not just any particular moral or message in a given work... but more so a greater visibility for, and a genuine illustration of, life with illness, disease, impairment, or disability.
Awesome!
In her video, Jen reads and reviews most of the books that are on the longlist (not too long - just 8 books) for the 2023 Barbellion Prize and then chooses which ones she would put on her shortlist (aka her favorites).
I highly recommend Jen Campbell’s YouTube channel. Along with her content about books, she also talks about her boyfriend (she calls him Mr. M) and shares beautiful footage of the places she goes for walks, the scrumptious-looking food she makes, and her adorable dog (whose name I can’t recall at the moment). It’s just a nice cozy, comforting place to be. You can watch her video below or click here to watch it on YouTube.
