2022 Portico Prize Winner
Toto Among the Murderers by Sally J Morgan
The judges said:
“Toto Among the Murderers vividly evokes a period in recent history with themes that carry clear, if painful echoes, to today — a time when women in the North, in particular, lived in mortal fear of sexual violence made explicit by daily headlines about mass murderers targeting vulnerable women. But what comes through is the determination of Toto, the main character, to refuse to allow the fears to define her as she lives a life of reckless adventure, longing and love.”
— Gary Younge, chair of judges
Mostly set in Leeds and Sheffield in 1973, Toto Among the Murderers – published by J M Originals / Hachette – is based on the author’s own experience of being offered a lift by the infamous murderers Fred and Rosemary West. Read more about the book and get your copy in our online shop here.
Sally receives £10,000 and an artwork by local artist Barry Anthony Finan, represented by Venture Arts, a charity for artists with learning disabilities in Manchester.
"I grew up in Yorkshire, and I have Yorkshire and the North – where I spent a lot of my adult life working – as a big place in my heart. I love to write about place, and I wanted to write about a place and a time and stories that I felt were being neglected and in danger of being lost. So to have Toto Among the Murderers recognised in this way by the Portico Prize is enormously affirming."
— Sally J Morgan
All proceeds directly support our charitable public programme
The 2022 judges: Melanie Sykes, Momtaza Mehri, Anita Singh and Gary Younge. Read about them here.
Watch the virtual Award Ceremony
Hear from 2022 judges Gary Younge, Melanie Sykes and Momtaza Mehri, 2020 winner Jessica Andrews and host Simon Savidge of Savidge Reads. Extracts from the six shortlisted books are read by past and present members of our Longlist panel — Yvonne Battle-Felton, Qaisra Shahraz, Ella Otomewo, Jo Flynn, Kamal Kaan and Mike Murphy.
Read about this year’s Longlist judges here.
About the Portico Prize
The Portico Prize is a £10,000 biennial award for the book that best evokes the spirit of the North of England, open to new works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.
To be eligible for entry, a book should have a central theme or subject that engages with some aspect of the North, whether, for example, through place, character, or sensibility.
The Portico Prize aims to celebrate the diversity of the North of England and to engage public interest in Northern stories, voices, and places. What constitutes the North of England and its geographical, linguistic, and imaginative locations are left to the discretion of those submitting and to the judges.
