£2,500
POETRY PRIZE WINNER ANNOUNCED!
Promising
poet Jo Kjaer is £2,500 better off
today after being announced the winner of the first Café Writers Norfolk
Graduate Commission. The prize was presented
by noted poet George Szirtes at Café Writers on Monday evening. Also
included in the award is publication of a poetry pamphlet by
Gatehouse Press and the chance to read at Café Writers and the Poetry-
Next-the-Sea festival.
The
happy prize winner who has just graduated from the Diploma in Advanced Poetry at
UEA’s Continuing Education department said “feels
like I've won the lottery but better; one big lift up the poetry ladder for a
new poet - a publication AND prize money -
Wow!”
The
standard of entries for the new award, which is open to writing students at UEA
and Norwich School of Art and Design was pleasingly high and Helen Ivory, one of
four judges commented…. “It
was tough to make a short-list, but in the end there was one clear winner.
We really liked Jo’s proposal which is to set each poem in a particular
place in Norfolk with an OS reference. This
way, people could visit the exact spot the poem first came into being.
There is also a visual element to Jo’s proposal which we liked.”
Kate
Christian said "Jo's
proposal caught the imagination of the judges. She had a real sense of using
place both in her poetry and in how she planned to put her pamphlet together.”
The
prize was established by the Norwich-based writers network to encourage an
emerging poet in the difficult early stages of establishing their writing
career. Café Writers supports writers at all stages of their development from
beginners right through to well established names. Founder Tom Corbett said “
Thanks to this generous donation by
Kate and Dominic Christian, we have
been able to put some money where our
mouth is and offer very real help
and encouragement to an exciting new writer.”
The
commission is a new venture for Café Writers which holds monthly live
literature events at Jurnet’s Bar, Wensum Lodge every month. The organisation
will also be holding a free writer’s picnic, Write Out Loud, at then Whiffler
Theatre, Castle gardens on 29th July. For further details see www.cafewriters.org.uk
About
The Cafe Writers Commission
This is a new annual competition, open to anyone who
in 2007, graduates from:
·
UEA: any undergraduate, or post graduate creative writing
based course.
·
UEA Continuing Education Level 3 Diploma creative writing
based course.
·
NSAD any undergraduate, or post graduate creative writing
based course.
The winner will be required to write a pamphlet-length
collection of poems in response to Norfolk. The brief is wide, but must be
anchored in some way to the county. The
aim is to add to the county’s reputation for literature by encouraging the
development of new talent within the region.
The Prize
£2,500 to the winner
A pamphlet published by Gatehouse Press
A performance alongside a writer of national and international standing at Café
Writers.
Free entry to a selection of New Writing Partnership events.
A performance at Poetry-next-the-Sea 2008 for the winner and runners-up.
A performance at Café Writers for the runners-up.
For the long-term, the best poems produced for the commission each year will
feature in an anthology published by Gatehouse Press.
Chris Gribble -Director of the New Writing Partnership
Caroline Gilfillan - Poet, and Chair of Poetry-next-the-Sea
Helen Ivory - Poet, and Café Writers Committee member
Kate Christian - Patron.
Send us 12 pages of your poetry (this need not be on the
topic of Norfolk) and a 400 word proposal.
Please
provide 4 copies of your entry and an envelope of sufficient size, with enough
postage to return your work. Work
will not be returned if you do not supply this.
The
deadline for submission is 20th June. Please
mark your envelope clearly as ‘Café Writers Norfolk Commission’ and send
you submission to Café Writers, Plane Trees, Cargate Lane, Saxlingham Thorpe,
Norwich, NR15 1TU
Submissions will not be accepted via e-mail.
Correspondence will not be entered into with unsuccessful applicants.
We are able to offer this Commission under the kind
and generous patronage of Kate and Dominic Christian.
Café Writers Limited. Registered Office:
Plane Trees, Cargate Lane, Saxlingham Thorpe, Norwich NR15 1TU.
Registered No. 5885924