M. H. Ayinde was the 2021 winner of the Future Worlds Prize. Her debut epic fantasy trilogy will be published by Orbit Books, beginning in spring 2025 with A Song of Legends Lost. Her short fiction has appeared in FIYAH Literary Magazine, F&SF, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and elsewhere. She is a runner, a lapsed martial artist, and a screen time enthusiast. She lives in London with three generations of her family and their Studio Ghibli obsession.

Marve Anson has been writing for over a decade and has self-published a thriller, HIS DARK REFLECTION, to critical acclaim. Her debut fantasy novel, FIRSTBORN OF THE SUN, is the first in a trilogy being published by Penguin Michael Joseph in October 2025. This novel also placed her as a finalist in many competitions, including the 2023 Future Worlds Prize for Fantasy and Science Fiction Writers of Colour.

Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson is the Sunday Times Bestselling author of The Order of Legends trilogy. Inaugural winner of the Future Worlds Prize in 2020, her debut novel, The Principle of Moments, was published in January 2024 , by Gollancz. As an author of Nigerian, Jamaican, and British-Australian heritage, her work primarily focuses on people who live at the intersection of identities, whether that’s here on Earth, or in far away galaxies of her own creation.

Tasha Suri is the World Fantasy Award winning author of The Burning Kingdoms Trilogy, The Books of Ambha Duology, What Souls Are Made Of and Doctor Who: The Cradle. Once a librarian, she is now a part-time writing tutor and a full-time cat and rabbit wrangler. She lives with her family in a mildly haunted house in London.

Future Worlds Prize for Fantasy and Science Fiction Writers of Colour is an annual prize for unpublished writers in the UK and Ireland. Now in its 5th year, the prize's previous winners include Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson and M. H. Ayinde. The prize is funded by author Ben Aaronovitch and actor Adjoa Andoh, and supported by a number of publishing partners.