'Stunned' Jamaican author Diana McCaulay wins prestigious Royal Society of Literature prize

Jamaican author Diana McCaulay has won the 2026 Royal Society of Literature (RSL) Ondaatje Prize for her novel A House for Miss Pauline, securing the £10,000 (J$2 million) award at a ceremony in London on Monday.

The award, first presented in 2004, recognises a distinguished work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry that evokes the spirit of a place.

The judging panel praised the novel's treatment of history, identity and place.

According to RSL judge Claire Armitstead, the work is “an evocative and powerful novel of belonging, with a fabulously eccentric protagonist, which complicates everything we assume about colonial history in all the right ways”. 

McCaulay, a multi-award-winning novelist and environmental activist, said she was surprised by the result.

"I was stunned by winning the prize - I had read four of the shortlisted books plus my own and had picked the winner - not my book," she told The Gleaner.

She said the recognition carries particular significance for writers working outside major publishing centres.

"International prizes are SO important for writers not living in a major literary market. I love it that this prize is for books which evoke the spirit of a place - something I've always tried to do with my novels."

McCaulay also welcomed the recognition of Jamaican language in literature. "I love it that the prize rewarded a book which uses the Jamaican language," she said.

McCaulay was the only Caribbean writer among six shortlisted authors competing for this year's prize.

Her novel was shortlisted alongside The Finest Hotel in Kabul: A People's History of Afghanistan by Lyse Doucet, The Benefactors by Wendy Erskine, Helm by Sarah Hall, Saraswati by Gurnaik Johal and Greyhound by Joanna Pocock.

When the shortlist was announced in May, McCaulay said the Ondaatje Prize was among her favourite literary awards because of its focus on place.

"I'm thrilled that A House for Miss Pauline has made the RSL Ondaatje Prize shortlist," she said at the time. "This is one of my favourite prizes because it celebrates novels which evoke the spirit of a place. And I have always tried to do that for Jamaica in my writing."

Asked what comes next, McCaulay said she is working on a memoir, though she remains uncertain about publishing it.

"Next for me is what I'm calling the Uptown Memoir although I'm still telling myself I'm not publishing it. After that, a novel about a contemporary family land fight."

She also offered advice to aspiring writers. "Write because it's how you make sense of the world, how you understand what you think. Let the rest go. If you do seek publication, toughen up. There will be rejection."

The Royal Society of Literature is a United Kingdom-based charity and learned society founded in 1820 to advance literature, honour outstanding writers, and promote reading. Led by writers, it comprises over 800 Fellows—including novelists, poets, and playwrights.

McCaulay, the author of six published novels and numerous short stories and articles, is among Jamaica's most decorated literary and environmental voices. A Gold Musgrave Medal laureate, the island's highest honour for lifetime achievement across the arts and sciences and a two-time winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Prize for the Caribbean region, having claimed the honour in both 2012 and 2022.

She was also shortlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Award and is a recipient of the Watson, Little 50 Prize for unrepresented writers aged 50 and over.

Follow The Gleaner on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram @JamaicaGleaner and on Facebook @GleanerJamaica. Send us a message on WhatsApp at 1-876-499-0169 or email us at onlinefeedback@gleanerjm.com or editors@gleanerjm.com.