Northern Writers’ Awards Winners 2007
 
Over £27,500 was awarded to established and up and coming North East writers yesterday (Sunday 25 March) in the Northern Writers' Awards 2007.

The annual awards, which are organised by New Writing North, the region's new writing development agency, are given to support writers in the development of their new novel and poetry collections.

The winners were announced at a special event at the Queen's Hall, Hexham, as part of the Hexham Book Festival.

Claire Malcolm, director of New Writing North and chair of this year's judging panel, said:

“The North East is a vibrant place for literary endeavour and a great deal of talented writers live and work here. The awards are an annual opportunity to support emerging talent and to recognise established writers.”

One of the joint winners of this year's Time to Write Award, Andy Croft from Middlesbrough, was delighted with his £5000 award:

“Trying to make a living as a poet is increasingly impossible. This Time to Write Award will certainly give me time to write and read and think. But above all, it will mean that over the next few months my job as a poet will be a little less impossible.”

To qualify for the Time to Write Awards, writers must be in the middle of developing work that is likely to be published. Fellow winner Alice de Smith, from Newcastle will use her £5000 to complete her new novel, Enough.

Four writers received a Northern Promise Award, given to writers who have not yet received full publication but whose work the judges feel shows great potential.

Jo Colley from Darlington receives £3,500 to support a new collection of short stories; Romi Jones from Northumberland receives £2,500 to work on her collection of stories, Rag and Bone Shop of Feminist Hearts; Angela Readman from Newcastle receives £2,500 to develop a new collection of poetry entitled My Pornographic Life and Elizabeth Whyman from Newcastle receives £2,500 to develop her first collection of poetry, which will be published later this year.

The winners of the Northern Promise Awards will also receive mentoring from New Writing North to help them move towards publication of their work.

“New Writing North has pioneered the setting up of professional mentoring schemes for writers,” explained Claire Malcolm. “Over the years we have found that this one-to-one way of working achieves great results for writers and introduces them to the professional world of writing.”

Other winners included Christy Ducker from Northumberland, who won the Andrew Waterhouse Award in support of a poet whose work shows great promise. Her £3,500 will support her new collection of poetry, Footing.

“This award will help me to get my book published,” said Christy. “I will be able to undertake intensive workshops to develop my work and help make it more of an organic collection.”

Glynis Reed from Tynemouth won the Andrea Badenoch Fiction Award, for women fiction writers over the age of 42. An award of £3,000 will support her to develop her short stories into a first collection.

“I’m proud to have been born and bred in the North East,” said Glynis. “Inspiration for my work comes from the people around me – colourful, hardworking, and often darkly humorous. The everyday dealings of ordinary people provide the richest harvest for writing. It is these people and their often very complex lives that I am striving to portray.”

As part of her awards package, Glynis will receive a free short course at the School of English at Newcastle University, with compliments of the University, to help her further develop her writing.

 

ends

All of the writers and judges are available for interview. Images of the writers taken at the award ceremony are also available. For all media enquiries and interview requests, please contact Amanda Ward on 0787 500 9438 or email amanda@amandaward.org.uk

 

Notes for editors

THE WINNERS:
Time to Write Award winners

ANDY CROFT
Andy Croft lives in Middlesbrough, where he has been active in community writing projects for many years. He is married with six children. His books of poetry include Nowhere Special, Gaps Between Hills, Headland, Just as Blue, Great North and Comrade Laughter. He has given poetry readings in many places, including Potsdam, Sofia, Moscow, Novosibirsk and London’s Poetry International. He writes a monthly poetry column in the Morning Star and edits Smokestack Books.

ALICE DE SMITH
Alice de Smith was born in Cambridge and moved to Newcastle five years ago. She is the author of the plays Our Kind of Fun, Briefs (with Gez Casey, both for Live Theatre, Newcastle) and The Cinderella Group (Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough) and is currently developing a television drama for the BBC. Alice is also a teacher of creative writing in adult education.  Before moving to Newcastle, she worked as a features and travel writer for national broadsheets.

 

Northern Promise Award winners

JO COLLEY
Jo Colley has lived in the region since 1974; she currently lives in Darlington. Her current day job is as a writer of educational software. Her short stories have been runners up in the Sid Chaplin Short Story Awards. She is also a successful poet – her first collection, As If, was published by Vane Women in 2002 and her next collection, Weeping for the Lovely Phantoms, will be published by Salt in autumn 2007. She has performed her work at many events in the UK and in Finland. She is a co-ordinator for Colpitts Poets in Durham and for many years ran the successful Hydrogen Jukebox live literature events at Darlington Arts Centre.

ROMI JONES
Romi is obsessed with the sea and lives in Embleton on the north Northumberland coast. She moved to the North East in 1998 and is a graduate of the MA in Creative Writing at Newcastle University. In 2006 her story, Eminem and the Virgin Mary, was a finalist in the Asham Short Story Award and published by Bloomsbury. She is currently working on the final draft of her first novel and a collection of short stories. For many years, Romi has worked with charities and community groups; she is interested in combining her community work skills with creative writing to run local writing workshops.

ANGELA READMAN
Angela Readman was born in Middlesbrough and currently lives in Newcastle. Her previously published work includes Sex with Elvis (Biscuit Publishing), Colours/Colors (Diamond Twig) and Unholy Trinity (Iron Press).

ELIZABETH WHYMAN
Having lived in Leeds for most of her life, Elizabeth Whyman moved to Newcastle in 1997 and currently works for Mslexia magazine. She is a graduate of the MA in Creative Writing at Northumbria University. In 2006 she was a finalist in the Cinnamon Press First Collection Award, had a poem commended in the Robert McLellan Award and won the inaugural Poetry Can First Collection competition.

 

CHRISTY DUCKER
Christy lives in Hexham. She runs creative writing workshops in the community and is currently working with the People’s Panel at the Laing Art Gallery. She is a graduate of the MA in Creative Writing at Newcastle University and was a prizewinner in the 2005 Mslexia Poetry Competition. Her poems have been published in a wide range of magazines.


The Andrea Badenoch Fiction Award winner

GLYNIS REED
Glynis Reed lives in Tynemouth with her husband, and has two grown-up children. She is a graduate of the MA in Creative Writing at Newcastle University and is a co-ordinator of The Blue Room, a venue for new and established writers to perform their work.  

 

 

JUDGES
The judges for the awards this year were Cumbrian novelist John Murray and Northumberland-based poet Linda France. The judging process was chaired by New Writing North director Claire Malcolm.

 

NEW WRITING NORTH
New Writing North is the writing development agency for the north east of England. 2006 marks ten years of activity working with writers from different genres and forms to develop career opportunities, new commissions, projects, residencies, publications and live events. NWN works in partnership with a broad range of organisations, universities, local authorities, regional development agencies, sponsors and media producers to develop opportunities for writers in the region.