The Shortlist for The Big Issue in the North’s first New Writers Award has been announced.
A total of 111 people submitted their short stories to the panel made up of The Big Issue in the North’s editor Kevin Gopal, Manchester author David Gaffney, and Valley Press editor Jamie McGarry, who whittled the entries down to 10.
“We were delighted at the number and quality of the submissions we received and we’ve enjoyed reading and judging them – although it was a difficult task,” said Gopal. “It’s a fantastic response considering this is the first time we’ve run the New Writers Award.”
An event to announce the overall finalist will be held at the International Anthony Burgess Foundation on 12 October, as part of the Manchester Literature Festival. The Big Issue in the North is media partner to the festival.
The ten shortlisted works will be published in an anthology produced by Valley Press, available to buy at the final event.
As well as providing emerging writers with a publishing opportunity and a first place prize of £1,000, the competition raised funds for The Big Issue in the North Trust, the charity arm of the magazine.
The award received sponsorship from Creative Industries Trafford and Waterside Arts Centre and has been run in conjunction with workshops across the North West, promoting the breaking down of barriers through creative projects with vendors.
New Writers Award Finalists
Raef Boylan – Nights Out
Ralph Bullivant – The Taste of Burnt Mackerel
Max Dunbar – The Shot
Rory Gleeson – Dart Times
Anthony Howcraft – Killer
David Martin – Relic
Duncan Ross – Stillness
Fee Simpson – Derek and his Clown
Rebecca Swirsky – On the Origin of Species
Barney Walsh – Somebody Else’s Lie
You can book tickets to the announcement of the award here.
Leave a reply
Your email address will not be published.