FlipSide-Gotelee
New Writing Competition: The Results
The winners have been announced in the two categories of the inaugural award for new writers in the FlipSide-Gotelee New Writing Competition. The theme was A Sense of Place and the Natural World.
12-17 years old:
Winner: An Elegy for a Drowned Town, by Isabel Brooks
Runner-up: As the Birds Live, by Bill Anderson-Samways
18 years upward:
Winner: Chalk, by Hannah Garrard
Runner up: Last Look, by Robert Hambley
The judges were:
Robert Macfarlane, writer
Lesley Dolphin, BBC Radio Suffolk
Chris Gribble, C.E.O. Writers' Centre Norwich
Liz Calder, artistic director, FlipSide
Liz Calder writes: “The judges were extremely impressed by the high quality of the entries in both categories. We were looking for writing that had vitality, humour, emotional impact and originality, and there were many entries which had these qualities. Indeed it was difficult to choose winners from such a wide range of talent. We were all delighted by the high standard of the writing.
“In the end, the use of language and elegant structure of Chalk and its emotional punch, and the zest and originality of An Elegy for a Drowned Town won the day, and the authors will receive the prizes of £1,000 and £500 respectively. The East of England has an extraordinary reputation for writing about the natural world, and based on the evidence of these entries, it is sure to maintain it.”
Congratulations to the winners and all who took part!