Jane Labous
About Jane
Jane Labous is the author of three novels: Past Participle (Afsana Press, 2023); The Chameleon Girl (Farafina Books, 2022), and Oh, Sugar, published by Afsana Press in October 2024.
​
Jane is also an award-winning journalist known for her frontline coverage of human rights, humanitarian and gender issues, always telling the powerful human stories behind the social and political headlines, with credits ranging from the BBC — including regular slots on BBC Radio 4's From Our Own Correspondent — to the UN.
​
Jane’s awards include the BBC Radio 4 and Royal Geographical Society Journey of a Lifetime Award; the Merck More than a Mother Media Recognition & Film Award for Francophone African Countries; a European Journalism Centre Development Reporting Grant, and Best Documentary at the Southampton Film Festival for her documentary project, Angels. In 2024, she was shortlisted for an Amnesty Media Award for her work documenting the stories of child soldiers in Burkina Faso. Her fiction has been longlisted for the Bath Novel Prize and the Santa Fé Writers’ Project Literary Award.
​
Jane is a devoted single parent, and lives with her daughter in Dorset.
​
Publications & Prizes:
Past Participle (Afsana Press 2023)
The Chameleon Girl (Farafina Books, 2022)
The Bath Novel Prize 2022, Longlisted
The Santa Fé Writers Project Literary Award 2022, Longlisted
Fiction Factory First Chapter Award 2021, Longlisted
BBC Radio 4 and Royal Geographical Society Journey of a Lifetime Award, Winner (for The Sand Diggers of Mali)
Southampton Film Festival, Winner, Best Documentary (for You Are Not Alone)
Amnesty Media Awards, Shortlisted (for The Lost Children of Burkina Faso)
Merck More Than A Mother Media Recognition & Film Award for Francophone Africa, Award Winner (for You Are Not Alone & Angels)
One World Media Award, Longlisted (for Cinderellas)
European Journalism Centre Development Reporting Grant, Award Winner (for Angels)
Guardian Development Journalism Prize, Award Winner