Announcing a new annual prize: The Tom Grass Spirit of Adventure Literary Prize

The inaugural Tom Grass Spirit of Adventure Prize launches today, 1 October 2024, through the collective effort of friends and family in memory of Tom Grass (1992, History), and with generous sponsorship from Steppes Travel.

The Tom Grass Prize is designed to encourage, help and reward committed, emerging writers from around the world. The prize is open to anyone aged 25 or over, either unpublished or with no more than one major publication, and is for a short piece of either Fiction or Non-Fiction reflecting in any way the spirit of adventure.

Tom was an adventurous spirit: a multi-talented writer, entrepreneur, charity worker, avid reader, and fearless traveller. He wrote the novel Twist (Orion, 2014), adapted into a film starring Michael Caine and Rita Ora. He co-founded a film company, Pure Grass Films, with his brother Ben, and a wellness business, Grass & Co; and set up a business importing hammocks and baskets from Rwanda. He lived for years in Africa and India, and travelled the world on foot, bicycle, and motorbike, fuelling his passion for storytelling. But Tom battled depression in adulthood and tragically died by suicide, aged 50, in February 2024.

Tom’s older brother Ben Grass and close friend, film director, James Erskine, are launching the Tom Grass Prize with Nikki Grass, Laetitia Rutherford, Olly Buston and John Lentaigne. The judging panel comprises a group of six including Tom’s literary agent Luigi Bonomi, Tom’s mother Adele Grass, journalist Tanya Datta, and Steppes Travel Managing Director Justin Wateridge (1989, History), and will be chaired by literary agent, Laetitia Rutherford.

Collectively, the team brings years of experience in film producing and directing, brand management, writing, publishing, and research into some of the leading concerns of our time. They encourage entries from 1 October 2024 through the official website tomgrassprize.com. The shortlist and prize winners will be celebrated at an annual event in London in June 2025, bringing together the prize’s community of writers, judges and supporters.

The winner of the Tom Grass Prize will receive £1,000, with two runners-up receiving £500 each.

Annual donations will be made to two causes that align with Tom’s values;
1. The Charlie Waller Trust, a charity raising awareness about mental health and suicide prevention
2. The Enaikishomi School and Community Project which provides primary education for local children in Kenya.

Ben Grass (1990, History), Tom’s brother says “Writing is a difficult and often solitary undertaking, but it is through community and connection that we find our greatest strength. With the Tom Grass Prize, we aim to celebrate Tom’s adventurous spirit and provide a platform for emerging writers, while raising awareness for mental health and supporting literacy in Kenya. The spirit of adventure lives on in every story, and we look forward to reading yours.”

For more information, please contact:

Laetitia Rutherford
Literary Agent
laetitiarutherford@gmail.com
07803 135892

Nikki Grass
Marketing
Nikki.grass@gmail.com
07939 257413

Published: 1 October 2024

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