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Press release
Embargoed until 00.00 27 June 2018
New northern talentnamed at
Northern Writers’ Awards 2018
26 winners share £40,000 award fund
The winners of the Northern Writers’ Awards 2018 were announced last night at a ceremony in Newcastle. Founded by New Writing North in 2000, the awards have a reputation for discovering and supporting some of the most exciting writing talent in the North of England.
The poet ImtiazDharker, literary agent Jonathan Ruppin, and authors Kerry Hudson and Lisa Williamson judged the 2018 awards, which were the most competitive ever with over1400 entries from writers across the region.
The awards are the largest of their kind in the country and are recognised by the industry for identifying some of the best unpublished writing in the UK. The 2018 awardees follow in the footsteps of previous winners includingthe poet Andrew McMillan, who subsequently won The Guardian First Book Award;short story writer Carys Davies, who went on to win the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award; and novelist Benjamin Myers, who recently won the Walter Scott Prize.
The Northern Writers’ Awards exist to recognise talent and support new work towards publication or broadcast, with awards for writers at different stages of their careers, including mentoring, developmental support and cash awards to buy time to write.
A new award for 2018, the Northern Book Prize, worth £5000, was won by Amy Arnold, whose novel Slip of a Fish will be published by the Sheffield-based independent publisher And Other Stories.
Amy Arnold, from Windermere, said: “I am overjoyed to have won the Northern Book Prize. Winning the award means that there are people out there who aren't afraid to look at different types of work and acknowledge that they have a place in literature. It buys me time and gives credence to the idea that hard work and taking risks pays off. I feel very fortunate and I am so grateful for this opportunity.”
Another new award, the Word Factory Apprentice Award, was presented to Sharon Telferin recognition of her outstanding short story, ‘The Earth Sheltering’. Sharon receives a £1000 bursary; mentoring from the writer Jenn Ashworth; and a year’s free access to all Word Factory events and masterclasses.
Sharon Telfer, from Pocklington in North Yorkshire, said, “Becoming the Word Factory/New Writing North Apprentice is such a boost to my writing confidence. Writing can be a solitary business. I’m looking forward to working closely with my mentor, Jenn Ashworth, and joining the creative communities Word Factory and New Writing North both foster.”
Eleven writers received the flagship Northern Writers’ Awards and 12-months membership of the Society of Authors, including Kit Fan, from York, who was awarded £3000 to support him to complete his first novel, Diamond Hill, and Emma Hill, whose £2000 award will enable her to complete her YA novel, Baby Girl.
Emma Hill, from Manchester, said: “I’ve been writing this book in the small hours and at weekends – tapping notes on my phone on the tram, missing my son’s football matches to write at the laundry-filled dining table, finding 20 minutes in my lunch breaks at work. When you write, you don’t know if anyone will ever hear what you’re working on, so winning this award is such a positive moment and I’m hugely grateful and excited.”
Poetry winners include Helen Mort, from Sheffield, whose award supports work on Failsafe, her third collection, which is inspired by rock climbing, and Elizabeth Barrett who is working on her fifth collection, Fall.
Elizabeth Barrett, from Sheffield, said: “In the last seven years I have needed to focus on caring for my disabled son. During this time, my writing has had to take something of a back seat and progress on my current manuscript of poems has been slow. Winning a Northern Writers’ Award not only gives me a period of concentrated writing time, it affirms my identity as poet as well as mother.”
Literary agent Jonathan Ruppin, who judged the fiction awards, said:“I set up my agency in part to help counteract the London focus of British publishing, so I was delighted to be asked to join the judging team. I was particularly thrilled to work alongside Kerry Hudson, one of my favourite writers and a tireless champion of writers from underrepresented backgrounds. I hope we’re able to encourage writers from the North that there is a growing understanding that their stories are needed to ensure that the British literary scene continues to flourish and remain relevant.”
“We looked at an impressive range of writing — there were stylishly powerful voices and strikingly original narratives. While the winners were outstanding, I do feel we’ve been fortunate to encounter more voices on the shortlist whose craft suggests that they can aspire to seeing their work in the hands of readers sooner or later.”
Author Lisa Williamson, who judged the children’s and young adult awards, said:
“Judging the Northern Writers’ Awards has been a privilege and a delight from start to finish.The talent in evidence was astonishingand I'm confident we'll be hearing a lot more from all of our winners over the coming months and years. I, for one, can't wait to see what's in store.”
The awards are produced by New Writing North with support from Northumbria University and Arts Council England. The full suite of awards is made possible by a range of vital partnerships with And Other Stories, Arvon, Bonafide Films, Channel 4, Lime Pictures, The Literary Consultancy, Oneworld Publications, The Society of Authors, and Word Factory.
The list of 2018 winners in full is:
Northern Writers’ Awards for Fiction and Narrative Non-Fiction
DimaAlzayat, Daughters of Manat (Manchester)
Kit Fan, Diamond Hill (York)
Lucie Brownlee, The Song of Annie Chapman (Co. Durham)
Northern Writers’ Awards for Poetry
Elizabeth Barrett, Fall (Sheffield)
Eleanor Rees, The Well at Winter Solstice (Liverpool)
Clare Shaw, Towards a General Theory of Love (Hebden Bridge)
Helen Mort, Failsafe (Sheffield)
Lindsey Holland, Hauntings (Ormskirk)
Northern Writers’ Awards for Children’s and Young Adult Fiction
Edward Baker, Nightflights(Sheffield)
Emma Hill, Baby Girl (Stockport)
Jennifer Lane, The Second Hand Boy (Manchester)
The Northern Book Prize
Amy Arnold, Slip of a Fish (Windermere)
TLC Free Reads Scheme
RahilaHussain, untitled (Huddersfield)
Caroline Murphy, Totality (Newcastle)
Dan Robinson, The Two Ys (Leeds)
Danny Marshall, Radio Silence (Calderdale)
Northumbria University Student and Alumni Award
Laura Steven, Creatia(Newcastle)
Channel 4/Northumbria University Writing for Television Awards – Television Drama
TaibaAmla, P.O.E.T.S (Lancashire)
Channel 4/Northumbria University Writing for Television Awards – Serial Drama
Luke Delaney,wins an attachment to Hollyoaks (Salford)
Word Factory Apprentice Award
Sharon Telfer, The Earth Sheltering (Pocklington)
Andrea Badenoch Fiction Award
Marian Smith, Answers to Absolutely Every Question (Warrington)
Arvon Award
Iain Rowan, Going Under (Sunderland)
Cuckoo Young Writers Award
Winner: Allison Birt (Newcastle)
Highly Commended: DiteBagdonaite (Sefton) and GeorgieWoodhead (Sheffield)
Matthew Hale Award
Scarlet Clayton (Bradford)
Claire Malcolm, Chief Executive of New Writing North, said: “It's very exciting to be giving awards to a new cohort of writers this year. We know from our research that winning an award can be a transformative moment for writers; often setting them off on a new career trajectory or boosting their confidence to take their work to a new level. The North is a hotbed of writing talent and I'm looking forward to seeing this year’s work that we are supporting come to fruition.”
Northumbria University’s Head of Humanities, Professor Julian Wright said:The Northern Writers’ Awards celebrate the essential importance to our culture and society of creativity and the capacity to tell new stories in our confused modern world. Northumbria University’s Humanities Department is very proud to support these awards and congratulates the winners most warmly on their wonderful work.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
New Writing North is the writing development agency for the north of England, and is an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation The Northern Writers’ Awards are its central platform for discovering and developing new writers from across the region, and were founded in 2000. More information about the Northern Writers’ Awards is available at New Writing North works with writers to develop career opportunities, new commissions, projects, residencies, publications and live events.
Northumbria University, Newcastle is a research-rich, business-focused, professional university with a global reputation for academic excellence.
One of the largest institutions in the UK with almost 34,000 students from more than 132 countries and over 186,000 alumni worldwide, Northumbria was shortlisted for University of the Year in 2017 and was also named 48th in the UK in 2017/18 by the Guardian – its highest league table position. Northumbria has invested more than £250 million in its estate since 2005 to improve the student experience. Northumbria is ranked top 50 in the UK for research power and had the 4th largest increase in quality research funding (REF 2014). According to Times Higher Education, Northumbria had the biggest rise in research power of any university in the UK. Northumbria’s cultural partners include New Writing North, Live Theatre, BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art, Tyneside Cinema and Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums.