Shortlists on shortlists (judge's version) part 6: Intervals

We asked judges for the 2025 Bread and Roses Award to reflect on a book from this year’s shortlist and to recommend a book which has been shortlisted for the award in the last five years - and we're thrilled to share their thoughts in the coming weeks, before we announce the winner of the award on 15th September (click the link to join us for the online event)!

Our sixth blog post comes from Amber I., a judge for the Bread and Roses Award for the first time, who reflects on Intervals by Marianne Brooker

Here is Amber I’s contribution...

Intervals by Marianne Brooker is a poignant and incisive book blending memoir with social critique. Brooker draws on the experience of her mother’s illness to weave a narrative tackling assisted dying, disability activism, welfare systems, but also motherhood and identity politics. In particular, Intervals explores the role of parent and child, and shifting caring roles at different life stages.

Brooker’s writing is intimate yet analytical. It offers a compelling, accesible and immersive perspective, and feels accessible the way memoirs tend to, but still presents key thesis points. It plays with the language of death and grief, not hiding away in the textbook phrases we often use, but instead putting a spotlight firmly onto the reality of her experience, leading to an incredibly vulnerable piece of writing.

It is a tender, and emotive look at the politics of death; a passionate critique of the failings of various support services; and most significantly, a touching tribute from a daughter to her mother.

Intervals stands as a testament to the versatility of nonfiction, and indeed we see this across the entire 2025 shortlist. Where Brooker’s work is tightly focused, This Arab is Queer, edited by Elias Jahshan and featuring on the 2023 shortlist, offers a broader lens.

This anthology tackles the intersection of sexuality, gender, religion, family and ethnicity. It lends voice to writers who challenge erasure, promoting a more inclusive understanding of the global queer community. Many of these pieces are stories of survival. Their authors continue to show empathy for others’ experiences and the importance of collective solidarity movements.

As with many anthologies, This Arab is Queer should be treated as a glimpse into varied writings and perspectives, and used as a starting point for a reader to deepen their understanding.