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magazine • July 2010 • 01
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Brit Writers’ Awards Unpublished Writer of the Year 2010
Special edition Brit Writers’ Awards Ceremony Thursday15 July 2010 Indigo2, The 02, London
Brit Writers’ Awards Unpublished 2011:
now open for submissions
July 2010 www.britwriters.co.uk
Short stories Poetry Non-fiction Songwriting Stories for children Novels Published Writer of the Year
£3.95
Good evening and welcome
to the inaugural Brit Writers’ Awards ceremony. Thank you for sharing this magical evening with us. I owe it to my team to tell you that tonight really didn’t happen by magic! Everything you see here is the result of months and months of persistence, hard work and a dogged refusal to let a single challenge get in our way of achieving our goals. And there were indeed many challenges in this journey. As you are aware, we launched the Brit Writers’ Awards to reignite the nation’s love of words and writing. To throw the doors open on an industry that can often feel closed to outsiders. To democratise the publishing process and make it possible for anyone with a story, poem or song to share it with the world. We were not universally supported in our mission. Challenges came from within the publishing industry; established people seemed suspicious of our motives. Maybe some were threatened by the idea of having the spotlight thrown on their industry. Who are the Brit Writers and what do they know about books? Since starting MWA in 2006, I knew people wanted a voice. That the UK was crammed full of gifted writers waiting to be unearthed. My team and I knew the publishing industry was – and still is – in trouble. With bookshops closing down, established authors struggling to sell their work and publishers taking on fewer new titles, we hoped to do something to remind the nation why, as human beings, words and stories are so important to us. Fortunately, UK writers got behind the Brit Writers’ Awards straight away. So much so that we were overwhelmed by more than 21,000 entries from Brits in 92 different countries, and we had to push back deadlines, grovel and enlist all the help we could find.
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And then something equally wonderful happened. Publishing people started showing their support: submitting books for our Published Writer of the Year category, offering endorsements and agreeing to send representatives to be here tonight. Now we’re in a fortunate position to be working alongside the industry in creating a publishing process that is inclusive and encouraging to all. None of this has been easy, though, so we thank you for your patience and enduring support. Using everything we’ve learned, we’re planning for next year’s Brit Writers’ Awards to be a smoother, more efficient and thoroughly oiled machine! And that just leaves me to thank my team, our hosts and performers and all of our generous sponsors; congratulate the finalists; and tell everyone who entered the Brit Writers’ Awards Unpublished 2010 to keep writing. We’re already taking submissions for 2011, so I hope we will see you again next year. I wish you a wonderful evening! Imran Akram CEO, Brit Writers
Special edition
Brit Writers’ Awards Ceremony Thursday 15 July 2010 Indigo2, The 02, London
The finalists 29-51
Meet the UK’s most promising new writers
Features
7-10 Fellowship Films
Supporting new screenwriting talent
24 28 55
How to create convincing characters
From make believe to making us believe
How to get to The End
Overcoming writer’s block
Creating a classic
Interview with The Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson
64-65 Judges’ feedback
Hone your skills for 2011
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Contents 6 7-10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18-19 20 21 24 25 27 27 28 29-51 52 53 54 55 56 58 60 61 62 63 64-65 66
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Meet your hosts Fellowship Films Philip Sheppard Mohammed Ali Zena Edwards Don Shahda David J Arts Council, Engalnd Grace Academy Human Relief Foundation The Royal Blind School The Reading Agency How to create convincing characters Richard King Robyn Lacey From cave walls to Facebook walls How to get to The End The finalists Communities and Local Government Harj D Young Writers Creating a classic Feargal Sharkey Interview with Richard Burton, Infinite Ideas Interview with Jane Gregory Aston University Training Connect Motivation Marketing Judges’ feedback Sponsor a School
Special Support
“I think the BWA an outstanding initiative and I am genuinely delighted to be a part of it. This has been a terrific experience and I would be thrilled to help out again next year.” Professor Thom Brookes, judge “With the dire situation currently reflected in the publishing industry, and the almost insurmountable difficulties faced by new writers in achieving that elusive first deal, initiatives like the Brit Writers’ Awards provide a much-needed and welcome opportunity for new authors to achieve recognition for their writing.” Debi Alper, judge “We are proud to support the Brit Writers’ Awards and the team’s commitment to opening out new and exciting opportunities to the UK’s best undiscovered writers.”
“As a Local Literacy Leader for the Brit Writers’ Awards, I am pleased to champion this creative writing campaign in my ward.”
“I am delighted to send my best wishes to everyone participating in these awards. Writing is a great way to display creativity and express thoughts and feelings, and there are few better ways to broaden horizons than to read other people’s work.”
Councillor Robin Turner, Derby
David Cameron, Prime Minister
Muslim Writers’ Awards
“It is with great pleasure that I lend my full support to Brit Writers’ Awards. Creative writing is a great way for young people to express their thoughts and ideas, give a voice to their opinions and make those opinions known to a wider audience.” Nick Clegg, Deputy Prime Minister
Brit Writers 63-65 Rea Street Birmingham B5 6BB Telephone: 0871 237 4442 Email: enquiries@britwriters.co.uk Visit us online: www.britwriters.co.uk
“Creative writing allows people to express themselves and voice their opinions in a constructive way, resulting in positive social change. I was thrilled to see the diversity of writing categories - giving everyone a chance to enter the competition.” Alex Salmond, First Minister of Scotland
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s t s o h r u o y t Mee
Charlie Jordan
Charlie Jordan is a radio presenter and spoken-word poet. Charlie has presented for Radio 1, Radio 2, LBC, BBC London, BFBS, Capital FM, BBC WM, Magic 105.4, BRMB and Heart FM – and she’s currently fronting a Sunday morning show on Smooth Radio. A former Birmingham Poet Laureate, Charlie recently completed an artist’s residency at West Bromwich Albion Football Club. She would like to claim credit for the team’s promotion to the Premier League, but concedes that the players’ poetic goals were as important as her inspired rhymes. Charlie also works in education, running workshops that aim to lift poems off the page and engage pupils with live performance poetry. She’s worked with young people from many different backgrounds, including looked-after children, young carers, children with autism, pupils at risk of exclusion and those already in pupil referral units. Our theme for the evening – the journey of the word – has struck a chord with Charlie, as it reflects a journey she has taken in her own career. “I realised I was most interested in the writers I interviewed on my radio shows, such as the poet Benjamin Zephaniah and novelist Paolo Coelho, before evolving into a writer myself,” she explains. “Now hearing a shy pupil find their voice in a poetry workshop is as exciting as hosting a live radio show.”
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Tre Azam
Tre Azam grew up in Hackney, London, and started work at the age of ten building PCs in his father’s factory. In his teens, he was teaching groups of men three times his age about the technology. After a horrific car accident, Tre spent more than a year in hospital, wheelchair-bound and dealing with pessimistic predictions about his future. However, he made a full recovery and threw himself back into business, setting up and running the US arm of the family company and bringing in over a million pounds in the first year. In 2003 Tre left the family business to fly solo, starting and selling a few small businesses to “keep him going” and build his experience. He studied every great theory and text on marketing, business, branding and design. By 2006, Tre was running his own consultancy firm: IDMM - Ideas, Design, Marketing & Management. He worked primarily as a marketing and brand consultant, rewarding clients with an average return of 800 - 1,000%. In 2007, Tre was a very memorable participant in BBC One’s The Apprentice. As the weeks went by, viewers witnessed Tre’s strong work ethic, commitment and, at times, brutal honesty! Earlier this year, Tre joined London’s commercial talk radio station LBC 97.3 to host his own Saturday lunchtime phone-in show, where he’s attracted a suitably outspoken and passionate audience. He is also the founder of Treite Labs, a video production company on a mission “to inspire change, innovate within media and to promote greater utilisation of the powers of imagination and the mind”.
So you want to write for the movies?
To give you an insight into the journey from script to screen, here’s an overview from people in the know at Fellowship Films...
Step 1: The writing process
If you have the desire to succeed then you must go for it. This business requires commitment as well as talent. In fact, you may need sheer bloody-mindedness – as well as belief in yourself and what you have to say as a writer. There will be times when you feel the game isn’t worth playing – especially if you have trouble getting industry professionals to even read your work, let alone take it up – but you must always believe. And keep writing.
Step 4: The shooting script
Once a script reaches its most finished form and is distributed to actors, the director creates what is known as a ‘shooting script’. While the script proper contains details of what the characters look and act like, and all of what the audience will eventually see, the shooting script details behind-the-camera things such as camera shots / angles, notes on lighting, character and prop placement, audio and special effects. The director also creates prop and location lists, detailing the accessories needed for each scene (from as large as ‘hotel room’ to as tiny as ‘cigarettes for main character’s pocket’).
Step 2: Getting your script out there
Step 5: Storyboards
Every year, Hollywood is inundated with approximately 100,000 unproduced scripts. Studios receive and review around 5,000 scripts, and of those a whopping 12 become real-life spectacles for the eyes and ears. The chance of a first-time writer having their film produced is approximately 140,000 (hey, that’s better odds than on winning the lottery!).
Storyboarding means, in essence, drawing a shot-by-shot comic book of the movie, labelling each shot with movement notes, dialogue and sound effects, and any other pertinent information. This process allows the director to test the visual effectiveness of the story before filming, avoiding wasting time and money with experimenting.
Before your script will be taken seriously, make sure it meets the minimum requirements. There’s lots of information in trade books and on the internet regarding rules and format; you just need to do a little research.
In recent years, storyboarding has become more advanced. For The Return of the Jedi and Jurassic Park, for example, difficult sequences were pre-filmed using models or representative figures.
To give your script the best chance for success (which doesn’t mean it’s a good chance), it’s wise to get an agent. Agents are known in the industry already (or at least better known than you are at this stage) and can access places you perhaps can’t. They are familiar with the business and can guide you through what might be a difficult process. The Writers’ Guild Signatory Agent List provides an overview of all the agents who may be able to represent you.
Step 6: Production
Step 3: Pre-production
Pre-production is the phase during which a film is planned. It can’t be skipped, and its careful execution is the first step to ensuring a film will turn out well. If your script has been accepted by a studio or buyers, it is, in almost all cases, out of your hands as a writer. Enter the producer. He or she will look over the script and make any changes they believe to be necessary to strengthen the story. Often, a second writer will then come in to rewrite dialogue and other elements. As the original writer (unless you are doing the rewrites due to contractual agreements or you are extremely skilled at polishing scripts) you will have no part in this. You may feel surprised or outraged by the changes made to your work.
Production is the most gruelling part of filmmaking. The cast and crew frequently spend 12 or more hours on set, filming only three or four pages of script, often in uncomfortable locations. This goes on for days, weeks, months with the same schedule day after day: review dailies (the footage shot yesterday), shoot today’s footage, prepare for tomorrow’s filming. For many people though, this is the most exhilarating part of production and where ‘the magic happens’.
Step 7: Post-production
Post-production involves every step after primary filming: editing and correction, reshoots, marketing, and so on.
Step 8: Selling
The final step of movie-making is to get the film sold to distributors and into cinemas. Film festivals are the usual forum for selling, but it is a tough process and requires very thick-skinned people. The good part is that, as a writer, you don’t have to be involved in this; it’s down to producers and sales agents. If they are successful in making a deal then you will soon see your film on the silver screen... Adapted from an article by Elijah Smith and supplied by Fellowship Films.
Once the producer gets the script to where he or she feels comfortable with it, a director is chosen – one whose talents match the subject matter of the story. An example of this would be choosing John Woo to direct an action thriller, rather than a romantic comedy. (Not that he couldn’t do a romantic comedy, but his forte is action!)
Sponsor’s feature - Felllowship Films
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Roger Moore
Encouraging existing and emerging authors
Shaken and stirred by the power of the word James Bond star Sir Roger Moore is a supporter of writers and particularly wants to encourage existing and emerging authors wishing to enter the realm of film. This year Sir Roger Moore joined the Luxembourg-managed / UK-administered Red Carpet Film Fund as Chairman of the Board. The team also includes visual effects maestro Ilyas Kaduji (Harry Potter, The Chronicles of Narnia – as well as a promotional short film for Brit Writers!), producer Richard Holmes (Waking Ned, Shooting Fish), production executive Terry Bamber (Quantum of Solace, Gulliver’s Travels) and respected film lawyer Richard Moxon. “I am thrilled to be involved with this fund,” said Sir Roger, “as I have always greatly enjoyed the creative side of pulling projects together. I believe the fund is quite unique in that it will invest considerably in development as well as production equity, enabling us to focus on bringing some great scripts to the screen.” As well as being a legend of the screen and televsion, Sir Roger is a gifted artist; in fact, before becoming an actor he was planning to be an animator. He has great admiration for creative people and is always keen to be involved with the creative aspects of production, be it in images or words.
Sponsor’s feature - Felllowship Films Sponsor’s feature - Felllowship Films
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Terry Bamber, Producer of Fellowship Films, began his career as an assistant director at the BBC working on projects such as The Whistle Blower, The Paradise Club and Jeeves and Wooster before moving into the film industry with Carry on Columbus, The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles and 102 Dalmatians. Terry is considered one of the UK’s leading production managers, working as 2nd Unit Production Manager on the last five Bond movies as well as many of the world’s best-known blockbusters. He’s also a professional and a gentleman in every way. Tonight Terry will speak about his life and passion in films and the responsibility that he feels is needed to be taken by filmmakers. He will also talk about Fellowship Films’ ethos based on strong moral and family values and its support for new British writing talent with a focus on aspiring and budding scriptwriters.
Terry Bamber Supporting aspiring and budding scriptwriters
Brit Writers’ Awards Unpublished 2011: now open for submissions We are already accepting submissions for the next Brit Writers’ Awards Unpublished. The closing date is Friday 25 February 2011, which gives you plenty of time. But please note: due to the overwhelming success of our inaugural competition, we are limiting the number of submissions we can accept to 20,000. The judging process is the same and we’re looking for the same high standard of creative, exciting and beautifully written stories, poems and songs. Listen out this evening for news of one extra category!
For more information, visit www.britwriters.co.uk. Sponsor’s feature - Felllowship Films
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A real
Honor Honor Blackman Honor Blackman is a British actor best known for her roles as Cathy Gale in The Avengers and Pussy Galore in Goldfinger. Honor was born in Newham, London, and was soon on the path to becoming a star after persuading her father that acting lessons would be an appropriate gift for her birthday. She has worked in films, on television and in the theatre, in a career that has spanned more than 60 years. It is Fellowship Films’ ‘Honor’ to have our good friend speaking at the Brit Writers’ Awards tonight, about her love of fine literature and the importance of supporting our homegrown writing talent.
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Sponsor’s feature - Felllowship Films
PHILIP
SHEPPARD Philip Sheppard is a film composer, solo cellist and a professor at the Royal Academy of Music. His early solo albums The Glass Cathedral and The Diver in the Crypt received rave reviews and attracted the attention of singer Scott Walker, who invited Philip to play at his Southbank Centre Meltdown Festival. They collaborated again on Pulp’s album We Love Life with Jarvis Cocker and on Walker’s critically acclaimed album The Drift.
He was commissioned to compose and produce the music for the London 2012 handover sequence at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics closing ceremony. His score This is London blended Zeb Soanes intoning the BBC shipping forecast with the London Symphony Orchestra, Jimmy Page and Leona Lewis. Also performed at the closing ceremony was Philip’s new Buckingham Palace-approved arrangement of the UK national anthem.
Philip has always felt at home as a classical musician working within the rock / electronic music worlds. He regularly writes and plays with UNKLE and has written and arranged tracks with numerous rock musicians including Jeff Buckley, Jimmy Page, Suzanne Vega and David Bowie.
Philip’s stage works include the ballet Sacred Monsters for Sylvie Guillem and Akram Khan, and the theatre dance piece In-I starring Khan and Juliette Binoche. His track ‘Rain, Steam and Speed’ was featured in Complicite’s adaptation of The Elephant Vanishes. Philip has also collaborated many times with photographer / filmmaker Nick Knight as well as the late Alexander McQueen (for whom he wrote Sarabande in Black for the Academy of St Martin in the Fields).
Philip wrote the soundtrack for the Apollo lunar missions documentary In the Shadow of the Moon (which won the World Documentary Prize at Sundance). Other recent major scores include The Tillman Story, Henry VIII: Mind of a Tyrant for David Starkey’s landmark Channel 4 series, and Sergio (shortlisted for the Academy Awards).
Philip has worked with street artist Mohammed Ali on tonight’s opening sequence, and will be also performing independently during the evening.
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Mohammed Ali Award-winning street artist Mohammed Ali takes to the Brit Writers’ Awards stage
South Bank Show Award winner Mohammed Ali, AKA AerosolArabic, who is known globally for his street art, is helping us celebrate the first ever Brit Writers’ Awards Unpublished. Mohammed’s vibrant street murals, inspired by Arabic calligraphy and spiritual themes, are his attempt at spreading messages of hope, unity, freedom and justice. His work has reached New York, Dubai, Melbourne, Singapore, Toronto, Amsterdam and London, being hailed by international media as “connecting communities” and challenging the oft-heard term ‘clash of civilisations’. For the Brit Writers’ Awards ceremony this evening, Mohammed has collaborated with renowned composer Philip Sheppard and talented spoken-word poets, including Zena Edwards and David J, to create a special introduction sequence. “As a visual artist initially, I now love to combine different art forms, bringing the best poets and musicians together and working with them to create an all-round rich and unique experience,” Mohammed explains. “There’s no better stage than BWA to let that be seen.”
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Mohammed recently delivered a sell-out show entitled ‘Writing On The Wall’, where his ‘live painting’ came together with poetry and percussion for a unique theatrical experience.
Zena Edwards spoken-word poet Zena Edwards has travelled the world as a poet and performer. Using song, movement and global influences as a jump-off for her words, Zena fuses African instrumentation (the Kalimba and Kora) and new technology to create soundtracks that reach across cultures and generations. Zena has toured extensively to international festivals with organisations such as Apples and Snakes, 57 Productions and the British Council. Her theatre work Broken Words (2004) and Security (2008) helped establish Zena as one of the UK’s leading solo writers / performers. She is currently an associate artist at The Albany in Deptford, where she is developing her next piece Conversations via an award from the Live Literature Consortium. Zena says: “A poet’s life is tough but is not for handing back because there’s no receipt nor is it for surrender. It is for changing and evolving.”
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Don Shahada spoken -word poet Don Shahada is the stage name of Zaid Gulraiz, a 23-year-old English teacher who studied Psychology at university and who now lives in Leicester. Zaid has been writing poetry since he was ten but only started performing a year ago. As an artist, he’s heavily influenced by hip-hop and inspired by subjects as diverse as the ‘War on Terror’, spirituality, religion, youth offending and... fried chicken.
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DAVID J
A legend on the spoken-word ciruit, David J’s vocal performances have seen him dubbed ‘the vocal pugilist’. He’s performed at the Latitude and Glastonbury festivals, toured Europe with the Last Poets, and supported Patti Smith on tour. Not to mention features on Radio 4, Choice FM, and Capital Radio, as well as performing at RADA and the Houses of Parliament. A feature of the London poetry scene for many years, David J has developed a unique style of delivery that is influenced by his hip-hop origins. He describes himself as scratching “words instead of vinyl like a tricky verbal gymnast”. “My experience in the field of performing arts spans many years, and I am pleased to say I’ve been able to inspire others with the same inspiration that I received from an early age,” says David J.
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Arts Council “At Arts Council, England we work alongside the publishing industry and schools and universities to support the best new writers. Writing is at the root of so much art – from song lyrics to screenplays and games to poetry, short stories and novels. It is really important that anyone who has the talent has a chance to write for a living, wherever they come from. We want young people to be able really to enjoy writing – being able to write well gives everyone a voice and the power to create something new and arts organisations can really add something to help that happen. We want new writers to have the opportunity to work with the best writers to hone their skills and to have the chance to support and learn from each other too. I’m delighted to see so much energy around encouraging writing at the moment and so many people who love writing, whether it is to make their own lives richer or as their profession. The Brit Writers’ Awards is a brilliant example of galvanising and celebrating that energy.”
Antonia Byatt, Director, Literature, Arts Council, England
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Make Your Wish... Write Now! Here at Brit Writers, we’ve enjoyed seeing how different schools have taken our programme on board, finding new and inventive ways to inspire their students to write. At Grace Academy in Coventry, students and teachers joined us in an ambitious literary challenge: to earn a place in the Guinness Book of World Records by attracting the greatest number of entrants to one writing competition. Entries took the form of ‘life wishes’ and were submitted through the Brit Writers website. We spoke to Steve Allen, Grace Academy’s Principal, to find out what he thought about the project... We’re really pleased that Grace Academy worked alongside us on the Make Your Wish project. What was it about Brit Writers that made you want to get involved to this level, and how has the project benefited your school? Working with Brit Writers has created a real buzz around the academy. Students have been given the opportunity to be actively involved in this project and have spent a lot of time thinking about what their life wish is, and how to express that in writing. A group of students organised themselves to get behind the project, recruiting others to get involved and encouraging everyone to put pen to paper... or fingers to keyboards! This project has enabled the academy to raise the aspirations of students, encourage a literacy approach, and to get them thinking about their life journeys. Please give us an example of a moment when you knew the project was working or inspiring your students... From the very beginning. Students were inspired by Zareen [Head of Operations at Brit Writers] when she addressed them at our Foundation day, creating a real
stir within the academy for everyone to become involved. We knew the project was becoming very successful when one of our students, Toni Francis-Kearns, was interviewed on our local BBC radio station. She was passionate, persuasive, and committed to the project. As Principal I can say it made us all very proud to hear a student speaking with such passion. Tell us about Grace Academy’s future plans for further creative, imaginative projects to boost literacy. The project captured the students’ imaginations from the start. The academy continues to be innovative about increasing our students’ literary talents, in developing a curriculum which encourages enterprise and creative writing. Through English lessons students study the fairytale genre and stereotypes, and are encouraged to write and even publish their own works. Our cross-curricular literacy approach, combined with the celebration of literature, supports our students in developing a love for reading and writing. Go on... now tell us what your personal life wish was! My wish was... For my family to all be well with my sons settled in careers with partners. As we never had daughters I am really looking forward to our first granddaughter - I may even consider retiring early to look after them!
Sign your school up to the Brit Writers’ Awards programme for schools: www.britwriters.co.uk.
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n o i t a d n u o fF
e i l e R n a m u
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ief l e R n a um H tal , n 1 e 9 9 m 1 n r n e di ov e g h d s n i n l o a b n e a t K c n Es U a sist is a s n a o s i r t e a f f d ed o l b h c u i Foun o h r t w in n o e i l t p a not s o i s e n e p a o e d l b org F era HR n . l d u l r v ty, i o o c t i w f n e e h i h t l t e e r nd ce, u a o r r f a o s s e i d countr ate on groun nality. n discrimi eligion or natio r gender,
HRF’s head office is in Bra dford. It has branches in London, Birmingham, Manchester an d Glasgow, plus overseas offi ces in Iraq, Jordan, Sudan, Paki stan / Kashmir and France.
nd alth of people arou he e th e ov pr im HRF seeks to spitals the world by: are centres and ho • • • •
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healthc refurbishing primary al medical staff loc for offering training as nics in remote are . running mobile cli where it is needed nt me uip eq d an ine dic me ng idi prov
HRF seeks to empower people through education by: • • • • •
refurbishing schools and educational institutions providing books, CDs and computers to schools offering training for teachers and school supervisors distributing school kits, stationery and equipment running scholarships for postgraduate students.
HRF seeks to give people sustainable livelihoods and improve quality of life by: • • • • •
helping people interested in farming homegrown produce running income-generation schemes (eg, in sewing) assisting homes for elderly people and orphanages helping disadvantaged families supporting disabled people with appropriate equipment.
HRF provides emergency response and is one of the key actors reacting to the ongoing crisis in Iraq. HRF helps by providing shelter, food and medication and medical consumables.
“The Brit Writers’ Awards are important because they are an opportunity for youngsters to express their abilities and to discover their hidden skills and talents.”
HRF places strong emphasis on water and sanitation, by: • • •
Dr Nabeel Al-Ramadhani, Human Relief Foundation (HRF)
restoring water plants and distribution networks assisting with well-digging supplying water by tankers to remote villages.
“I enjoy listening to and reading poems... I like those which create a rhythm.”
“Each word is a messenger between people but the best thing is to know how to use the right words in the right way.”
“The three most important qualities that have HRF gives special attention to internally displaced people in Iraq (people who are forced to flee their homes but remain within their country’s borders), by: • • •
establishing and maintaining refugee camps providing food and non-food items offering medical aid, water, sanitation and education.
providing financial support training unemployed young people in various skills (including hairdressing and plumbing).
get results. They should take their time.”
work without knowledge can lead to a wrong result.”
HRF runs courses that help save lives, including: • • • • • • • •
“People wanting to be writers should not rush to “Knowledge should come before work because
It is estimated that there are four million orphans in Iraq and one million widows. HRF helps by: • •
helped me get where I am today are belief in the concept, patience and sacrifice.”
Medical Emergency Management Updates in Acute and General Medicine Surgical Training Educational and Training for Iraqi Nurses Lifesaving Skills for Essential Obstetric and Newborn Care Basic Surgical Skills for Iraqi Surgeons Histopathology Updates for Iraqi Pathologists Oncology Updates for Iraqi Doctors.
“Keep your heart and ears open so you can listen
to and accept good advice. Never put up barriers for people, especially those with experience and faith.”
“Try to follow good examples so that you too can become successful!”
“HRF is proud to support the Brit Writers’ Awards particularly for its work with children in special needs schools. These children are no different to other youngsters in terms of intelligence, talent and creativity – and they need to be nurtured and empowered too.”
HRF provides humanitarian aid during emergencies and their aftermath, working to relieve suffering and reduce loss caused by both natural and man-made disasters.
www.hrf.co.uk Registered charity number: 1043676
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the
Royal Blind School We took a multi-sensory approach to creative writing!
Schools around the UK have got involved with the Brit Writers’ Awards in many different ways. Here’s how the Royal Blind School in Edinburgh used the competition to inspire its students... “At the Royal Blind School we took a multi-sensory approach to creative writing to help inspire pieces for the Brit Writers’ Awards. As most of our pupils do not have the visual stimulus for writing we bombarded their senses with an array of sounds, smells, tastes and objects to touch that would help them produce ideas for fantastic creative pieces. Additional Support Needs classes had fun writing horror stories after listening to spooky sounds and bravely handling some scary creatures and items. Another class used this inspiration to write recipes that would curdle your blood. To tie Brit Writers’ Awards in with the curriculum, Standard Grade pupils literally got ‘into character’ by dressing up. They wrote some intriguing stories that were entered into the competition; these will also contribute towards the folio of writing that pupils produce as part of their course. Meanwhile Intermediate 1 and 2 pupils investigated the crime genre through film clips and Ian Rankin’s short stories. They decided to subvert one of the traditional genre markers in order to make their crime stories unique. Then we got down to the important part: the judging. Our school librarian chose the three finalists and our principal teacher, Ms Shylan, made the final decision. Our winner, Alana Moody, was thrilled to receive her certificate and an iPod for her brilliant story, ‘Haunted Castle’.”
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Get your school involved: www.britwriters.co.uk
The Reading Agency “Our mission is to inspire more people to read more”
“Throughout my career and especially as Director of The Reading Agency I have been passionate about reading. At The Reading Agency we have seen how reading can transform people’s lives. The more you read the more you know. The more you read, the more you imagine. The more you read, the better you understand, and the better you can connect to people. Our mission is to inspire more people to read more. We specialise in working with the public library network. We work with readers of all kinds – from primary-school children to adults trying to improve their literacy skills. From prisoners to young people in deprived areas. We have built huge new national reading programmes and partnerships that work locally and are helping turn libraries into community hubs for reading. We have a special emphasis on using five creative tools – challenges, reading groups, volunteering, promotions and contact with writers. Reading, of course, cannot happen without writing. Like cake without cream, interesting, entertaining, engaging reading cannot happen without creative writing, which is why we support the aims of the Brit Writers’ Awards. Great creative writing can have an enormously transformative power in the lives of those who read it and we applaud the opportunity provided by the awards to find, reward and recognise strong and fresh new writing talent.”
For more about The Reading Agency or any of the projects mentioned, visit www.readingagency.org.uk or call 020 7278 8922.
Support reading and writing in your area. Brit Writers is always looking for partners and sponsors: call us on 0871 237 4442.
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Pizza Hut Delivery is delighted to sponsor the Brit Writers’ Awards Unpublished 2010. We congratulate everyone who has taken part in this unique competition – and extend special wishes to those who made the shortlist. At Pizza Hut, we believe in giving back to the communities in which we live and work. Our parent organisation provides financial support to charities across the world, investing in reading incentives and book schemes and mentoring at-risk teens. We believe the Brit Writers’ Awards are a fantastic way to celebrate the UK’s love of reading and writing, and to encourage undiscovered writers to come forward and share their talents.
Have a great evening – and you know where we are next time you’re staying up late working on your masterpiece!
www.pizzahut.co.uk
From make believe to making us believe: how to create convincing characters Whether it’s the brooding Mr Darcy, the tragic Anna Karenina or the sweet but clumsy Bridget Jones, great fictional characters live on after ‘The End’. So how do you create characters that make an impact? 01. Plot or character?
Should you start with a plot and invent characters to fit? Or devise your story only after you come up with a great character? Either way can work well, but both methods require care. Plot-driven stories can be fast-moving, with lots of twists, turns and exciting action, but the characters may never really ‘come to life’. Character-driven stories are often emotional and inspiring, but sometimes at the expense of pace or excitement. Think about your story – is it a gritty domestic drama or a supernatural romance? If so, you might want to focus most on character. But if it’s a wild adventure in space, you need to make sure the plot works first, before dropping your characters into the action.
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02. Get to know your characters
Most writers spend time researching their characters. They visit the setting of their story, and use libraries and the internet to get information. You might be surprised at how a little digging yields fantastic details that make your characters feel much more believable. What if you’re writing a fantasy set 1,000 years in the future? You can’t research your characters in the conventional way, of course, but there is a fantastic resource you can use: your imagination. What does your heroine see when she wakes up and looks out of the window? What is she thinking about as she straps on her jetpack and zooms off to the alien-research lab?
03. Give your characters a hard time What does your character want? It could be a major goal, like saving the world, getting the girl, or winning a war. It could be something simple, such as surviving the first day of school.
Whatever your character wants, don’t make life easy for him. Put obstacles in his way. Maybe someone is trying to stop him, or time is against him, or even the public transport system! Good characters have to fight for their goals. Keep the story unpredictable and your reader will be glued to the page, wondering what will happen next.
Richard King
Chief Executive, Faber Music Ltd
After a freelance career as a writer, music proofreader and singer, Richard joined Faber Music as an editor in 1989. He was initially responsible for growing the company’s educational and commercial printed publishing programmes, notably in choral music. He became Managing Director in 1999, when he immediately set up Faber Music’s own printed music distribution service and set in motion significant growth within the company’s media music and rights businesses.
Richard instigated and led Faber Music’s acquisition of International Music Publications Ltd and related pop print rights in 2005, a move which doubled the size of the company. He was appointed Chief Executive in 2007. His broad personal musical tastes have given Richard the strongest possible commitment to the creation and promotion of music of all types. He is passionate about music publishing, and has worked closely with the widest possible range of composers, writers and editors, including some of the most influential composers working in contemporary concert music, film and TV, education and pop. He has a particular passion for music in education and has influenced thousands of young musicians through the commissioning, publication and sale of an array of bestselling instrumental method books, choral and recreational repertoire for young musicians. Richard is very active within the broader music industry as a director of both Performing Right Society and Music Publishers Association. He is Chair of Governors of a large junior school and, with his family, fosters children on a regular basis.
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Faber Music is proud to support the Brit Writers' Awards 2010 and congratulates the finalists and winners in the young people and adult songwriting categories Dear budding songwriter, As a company, we thrive on partnerships – first and foremost with composers and writers, but also with progressive, forward-looking organisations with a passion for creativity. BWA and Youth Music are just two examples. We love the commitment and positive approaches of both and identify fully with the ethos they each support – the desire to put something back and to make the world of music a better place for budding new talent. As Resource Partner for the extraordinary Sing Up programme – now actively taken up by 88% of the UK’s primary schools and with an unrivalled reach at grassroots level – our collaboration with Youth Music is part of our absolute commitment to educational music. BWA is our newest partner and this is a relationship which reinforces our core philosophy, to identify and support outstanding composing ability wherever it is to be found. But I particularly want to acknowledge the composers and writers themselves, without whom neither we nor the wider music industry would exist. If you are one of the hundreds of songwriters who submitted entries for BWA 2010, I thank you for being part of the eco-system which makes our world go round and wish you every possible success in your music. Whether or not you are a finalist or a winner tonight, I encourage you to get your music performed at every possible opportunity and to keep writing. Good luck!
Chief Executive, Faber Music
www.fabermusic.com www.singup.org www.britwriters.co.uk
Robyn Lacey
Robyn Lacey is 11 years old and lives with her parents Stuart and Jane, elder sister Lois, younger sister Annie and a “vicious family cat” named Louis. Robyn’s hobbies are writing, drawing, drama, playing football and netball, horse riding, reading and talking, talking, talking!
Her favourite books include the Harry Potter and Twilight novels, stories by Roald Dahl and A Series of Unfortunate Events. Poetry-wise, she particularly enjoys Kit Wright and Spike Milligan. Robyn’s favourite musicians are Taylor Swift, Paramore, Michael Jackson and Tokio Hotel. Robyn’s teacher, Sue Homewood, recognising her as a gifted student, got in touch with Brit Writers to see what we could do to nurture her talents. The competition deadline had passed, but we were so impressed with Robyn’s poetry that we invited her to perform ‘The Word Weed’ here tonight...
From cave walls to Facebook walls: the joy of the written word
“With today’s boom of technological writing media – from abbreviated texting or Facebook wall messaging to the 140-character limit of Twitter – have we returned to an age of writing? I’m not sure. We seem to have more means for communicating than ever, but most require little effort and, perhaps more tellingly, minimal time investment. What will be the impact of these speedy exchanges on society in the medium to long term? Where is the stimulus to encourage high-quality writing and creative expression? The Brit Writers project is a movement designed to reignite a love for creative writing in the UK. It challenges the government to peel back layers of bureaucracy to allow teachers time to nurture creativity in young people. It challenges the publishing industry to open its doors and become more inclusive. Since June 2009 when the Brit Writers’ Awards had nothing but a ‘coming soon’ web page and a telephone line, 21,000 voices of support for our campaign have called out in the form of entries to our competition. Councillors and
community leaders championed our plight in their wards by becoming Local Literacy Leaders. Hundreds of schools signed up as members, delivering the Brit Writers’ Awards programme and holding mini competitions. Many were sponsored by local businesses, and dozens of special-needs schools were able to join for free. Authors from across the country volunteered to visit classrooms and inspire students. People from all walks of life, from prison wardens to principals, were empowered by the Brit Writers’ inclusive and democratic approach, and they put pens to paper and wrote the story, poem or song they had always dreamed of writing. Through the Brit Writers’ Awards, the UK has spoken: people want to write. In this age of having global communication at our fingertips, it is critical that we nurture good writing skills – particularly if we want our young people to grow up with the ability to respond, debate and delight. Ever since people began etching rudimentary pictograms on the walls of caves, humans have had an amazing resource: the ability to share more knowledge than can be committed to memory. Now it is time to reawaken writing; to remind ourselves of the power of words in influencing hearts and minds, or even changing nations.”
Zareen Roohi Ahmed
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Everyone knows that a story needs a beginning, a middle and an end. But what if you can't even get past the first page? 01. What’s the problem?
In a short story, you need to cut straight into the action. If you’re spending hundreds of words describing the setting or characters, it’s possible you’ve forgotten what your story is all about… Ignore the ‘back story’ for now and jump right into the exciting stuff. Think about what makes your story interesting, shocking or intriguing. Is there a dramatic meeting, a decision, a problem or a secret to tell? Find the part you’re most interested in and start there. Chances are, your readers will appreciate it too.
02. A tough call Now you’ve set the scene, your main character can move the story forward by making a tough decision. Should Rachel phone that handsome man she met at the party, even though she suspects he’s married? Will the new teacher confront his students about the sinister note he found on the classroom floor? What will the spy do with the information she’s stolen from her enemy? If your writing has stalled, perhaps it’s because you can’t decide which move to make next. If that happens, push your character into action. Remember, you can always go back and change your mind later.
03. It just keeps getting worse and worse Whatever decision your character made, it’s going to cause her more (and bigger) problems now. This is the middle section of your story... where you can really start having fun.
Let’s say Rachel decided to call the man she met at the party. They go on a date. So far, so good. But then she finds out he is married – and he wants to date her anyway! She refuses, but he won’t take no for an answer. Keep thinking: what’s the worst thing that could happen next? Maybe he turns out to be a stalker. Maybe Rachel falls in love with him and ruins her life trying to persuade him to leave his family. Whatever you decide, keep upping the stakes until Rachel’s first decision to phone him has developed into a full-blown nightmare. If you get stuck in this part of the story, it’s probably because you’re letting your characters get their own way too much. Think of the worst possible outcome of the character’s decisions. Write that. Now your character has to dig deeper and deeper to get out of trouble, and the reader is gripped, desperate to find out how she’ll do it.
04. The showdown In this part of the story, everything comes to a head. The main characters confront each other in a battle of willpower, strength or emotions. Will they finally realise they love each other? Will the spy reveal her double bluff? Will the teacher manage to save the world? Or... not? Everything in your story has been leading up to this point. And now you can finally deliver the answers your readers are keen to find out. Problems here are usually to do with not knowing how the story will end. Do you want a happy or sad ending? Does your character win or lose? Or the problem might be that you’re not sure how to untangle a knotty plot. In this case, just write the ending you want, and then work backwards through your plot, rewriting until the ending makes sense.
How to get to
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The End
the finalists
We are proud to present to you the finalists of Brit Writers’ Awards Unpublished 2010. Short stories (16 and under) Poetry (16 and under) Non-fiction (adult) Songwriting (adult and 16 and under) Stories for children (adult) Short stories (adult) Poetry (adult) Novels (adult) Published Writer of the Year Brit Writers’ Awards Unpublished Writer of the Year 2010 “The variety, quantity and quality of submissions are a testament to our love for the written word and whatever the entrant’s age they will have spent many hours crafting their stories, poems and songs. Therefore making decisions about each manuscript was a responsibility all the judges took seriously. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and am pleased to see some of my favourites represented here tonight. Everyone who submitted work should be justly proud.” Nicholas Halliday, judge “I was stunned by the bright, vibrant talents that are maturing out there. The quality of some of the entries blew me away. It all bodes very well for the future of British writing.” Rebecca Horsfall, judge
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the finalists
The UK’s brightest new authors submitted short stories (maximum 3,000 words) on any subject to the first ever Brit Writers’ Awards Unpublished. The judging criteria included: well-developed characters and storyline, originality, creativity and an ability to engage the reader.
short stories (16 and under)
short stories (16 and under)
Eemaan Beardon
Yaman Birawi
Sacha Burgess
The Village in the Box
Mirror of My Memory
What Lies Beyond
“My name is Eemaan Beardon and I am 13 years old. My hobbies are writing, drawing, reading, making videos, archery, baking and watching comedy / fantasy / action movies.
“I was born on 4 February 1994 in Leeds General Infirmary. I was born British by paper, Palestinian by nature and Muslim by Creator. Growing up in Leeds I found interest in art, music and sports, especially horse riding. Moving to London opened my eyes to writing. We moved in 2006 when I was in Year 9, where I remember one of the first proper stories I ever wrote: it was about African slavery and a little girl who dies for being brave and heroic.
“I’m Sacha Burgess and I’m 15 years old. Ever since I was little, I have enjoyed writing because I have always thought of it as a form of expression where you are solely judged upon what you have to say, as opposed to who you are. However, my entry for the BWA has been my first serious piece of writing other than schoolrelated work. Although, I think this competition may spur me on to continue writing in the future, because I still haven’t a clue as to what I want to do when I finally grow up; though it would be nice to do something creative.
I am passionate about writing and reading. I like to express things that are important to me through my writing. Writing allows me to enter a world of imagination, create new characters and do what I do best. I like to write and create characters people fall in love with. I have been writing for over two years now and still going strong. I always put a lot effort into my writing. Sometimes my stories take a long time to come together. I tend to research a lot before I begin writing. Reading helps me to create new stories. My favourite book is Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan.”
“Writing allows me to enter a world of imagination”
A little about myself... Well I’m a typical 16-year-old guy. Outgoing, open-minded and a gregarious person who loves nothing more than being surrounded by the people he loves, friends and family. I love reading – The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown being my favourite book – and music, in which I have too many favourites to count. I always attempt to accomplish tasks to the best of my ability, striving for perfection. My driving passion is in medicine and my determination to reach this goal has driven me to invest all my efforts into becoming a doctor. However, I keep my other infatuations very much alive! I have managed to succeed at meeting, with pride, the majority of my targets for now, and I plan to continue strong-minded and dedicated to reaching my goal and being the best I could possibly be.”
“I remember one of the first proper stories I ever wrote: it was about African slavery and a little girl who dies for being brave and heroic”
Apart from writing, my interests are classical dance such as ballet and tap, as well as cheerleading and occasionally confusing people with my twin sister. Sadly, she didn’t enter the competition, but my parents think she’d have done just as well, which has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that as parents, they have to treat us equally. I’ve lived all my life in Tooting Bec, South London and am currently in Year 10 at Graveney School, studying for my GCSEs and working towards the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze award. By the time of the BWA ceremony, I will already have completed my practice expedition and will have to ask for time off from my work experience at a library. If I’m late, you’ll know why!”
“I think this competition may spur me on to continue writing in the future”
Lizzie Hyland
Shona Louise Jackson
Rebecca Mannion
Daisy Wells
Never Forget
Stupid Little Love Notes
Macabre
Footprints in the Sand
“I am Lizzie Hyland, I am 16 years old, and live in Nottingham. I live with my parents and two sisters, go to Rushcliffe School and live the typical life of a teenage girl. I spend the majority of my time with my friends and currently I am enjoying the long summer holiday after having done my GCSEs. I chose to study French, Spanish, History and Art at GCSE but I am still undecided on my A-level options. I also spend a lot of my free time at a local dance school; I do five dance classes a week as I find it very enjoyable. I also love to read. I have greatly enjoyed the study of the books for GSCE, especially Of Mice and Men. English Literature is one subject that I am pretty certain I will take next year and I can’t wait to start reading, discussing and analysing the course books.
“I am a 15-year-old schoolgirl from Lancashire with big ambitions and a small shoe size. I live with my wonderful parents in a house so clean you could eat cheesecake off the floor tiles, and a garden containing every shade of rose under the sun. I thrive off change, whether it’s the fading of the seasons or the starryeyed prospects of the future. The two constants however are my gorgeous friends and family - who are as loyal as golden retrievers but definitely less hairy - and my love of writing.
“Hi! My name is Rebecca Mannion. I’m 14 years old and I live in Warrington with my mum, my dad, my twin brother and my dog, Wilf.
“A lot of biographies start with ‘an average teenager, an average life’, but truthfully, that’s not what life is like at all. You don’t know how your life is going to turn out like. ‘Whatever happens, happens!’ is what my mother said to me once. So where do we start? Maybe a little like this...
I love to read novels and books that other people have written but do not pride myself in my own work. The short story I submitted to the Brit Writers’ Awards is the only proper short story I have ever written. I have always quite liked writing tasks at school but as a hobby I have always read stories, not written them. However I very much enjoyed writing ‘Never Forget’, and will definitely begin to write more short stories of my own, as it is a skill I would like to improve.”
“The short story I submitted to the Brit Writers’ Awards is the only proper short story I have ever written”
Writing has been a huge part of my life ever since I learnt to string words together and, regardless of the future, will continue to be my passion. I have one hazy memory of waking up at a time when every five-year-old should be dreaming of Play Doh or the latest episode of Tweenies. I had the opening lines of a poem racing through my mind, so I wrote, for two hours straight (which seems like forever when you’re five). Ever since, I’ve religiously carried a notebook and pencil in my satchel. Writing for me was never an option; it was and still is the way I make sense of situations. My priorities may have changed from scrawling my name on an Etch A Sketch to printing my name on exam papers, but I still feel the same fire in the pit of my stomach when I pick up a pen as I did ten years ago.”
“Writing has been a huge part of my life ever since I learnt to string words together”
I have lots of hobbies and interests. I like to go out with my friends. Also, I have been doing ballet and jazz dancing since I was around three years old and have enjoyed every single lesson! I’ve taken part in dance shows within my dance classes and my school. Dancing is one of my biggest passions but I like to always put my writing first! I would read novels by Roald Dahl when I was small and I aspired to be like him and use the same imagination as he did. I would write stories of talking animals and magical make-believe worlds in a ‘Roald Dahl’ style! However, when I grew older, I began to read historical fiction books. My favourite author is Celia Rees and I loved her book Witch Child. I then decided that I would like to write stories similar to these but still with the element of magic that was common in Roald Dahl’s books. I am really pleased that my story has gotten this far and I can’t wait for what might happen to my writing in the future.”
“I would write stories of talking animals and magical make-believe worlds”
My name is Daisy Wells, and I am not like any other teenager: everyone’s unique. However, unlike most of my friends, I started off in the middle of London – near Heathrow Airport – and moved to Chingford when I was little, because my brother came along. I have two brothers – you cannot imagine what they’re like! – who wrestle non-stop (oh, happy days!). I have two loving parents, who make me who I am today. (I have to say that; they’re my parents!) And finally, good friends. I enjoy life, and live it to the full. I dance – ballet, tap, street and modern – which is practically what I do half my life! I’m not a completely perfect student, but not a bad one, either. ‘The more creative the lessons; the better’ is what I say! I know what I am going to choose for my GCSE options, but that doesn’t confirm where I will end up... There are a whole lot of possibilities out there, just waiting to be ventured, just waiting to be opened, be explored.
“There are a whole lot of possibilities out there”
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the finalists
poetry (16 and under)
Mohammad Mizan Ahmad
Smart young wordsmiths sent in their collections of three poems (with a minimum of six lines and a maximum of 40 lines per poem – unless it was a haiku). Our judging criteria included interesting content, good poetical form and successful communication of the poems’ core ideas.
poetry (16 and under)
I Remember, The Boy and His Gun, Charlotte the Harlot “I am a very eccentric 15-yearold. I consider myself to be a conscientious individual who can easily adapt to various changes. I am enthusiastic to pick up new skills and I am a committed and well-organised person who can work well as part of a team. I thoroughly enjoy my English lessons and have been writing since I was nine years old – I have had an infinite passion for it since. I write various pieces ranging from short stories to poetry. I take great interest in all types of rock music (mainly heavy metal) and music, as well as shows from other cultures, for instance, Japanese manga cartoons and Korean pop music. Other hobbies of mine are Lau Gar Kung Fu, gardening and socialising with my friends. I am not very keen on sports games; nevertheless, I still love to play them and try my best as I am a hard-working and devoted person who never gives up. I love to meet new people. I acknowledge the importance of fairness and equality; therefore I am a fair and just person who considers everyone’s point of view. I am a very optimistic person and understand the need to compromise at times. However, I continue to aim high and am determined to exceed expectations.”
“I thoroughly enjoy my English lessons and have been writing since I was nine”
Sadiya Hussain
Imani Jeffers
A View on Life
3 Poems by Imani Jeffers
“My name is Sadiya Hussain and I have always enjoyed reading and writing. I have always been a bookworm. When I was 11 I started to write my own poems as I figured out that I loved poems but I didn’t know if I was going to be able to create my own poems, in a unique style. But I continued to write and found out the different styles in which you could write poems.
“My name is Imani, and I am 13 years old. I live with my mum and cat in London. I attend a fantastic school, and have done so since the age of four. My favourite subjects are Music, English, History and Geography.
I love to write poems as you can create so many different meanings in a poem and you can write about a number of things; there is a lot of variety. Writing has always been a passion of mine and it brings me great joy to write about everyday things which can affect a person. The poems which I have written show my view on life but in different perspectives because the first poem, ‘Failure in her eyes’, is how a mother looks at her child, but it is written by the child who wants to know what she can do to make her mother proud of her. The second poem, ‘The life we live’, is about a person who lives in a world where everything is tarnished and how each day brings a constant misery. The third poem ‘The Journey’ is how a young couple have departed and the realisation behind it. The poems which I have entered to the Brit Writers’ Awards are my favourite ones and can be interpreted in many different ways.”
“You can create so many different meanings in a poem”
My hobbies include swimming, writing, songwriting, singing and socialising with my friends. I have an excellent group of friends and we support each other; they are fun to be around. They always encourage me when it comes to my writing! I cherish their company and I wouldn’t be without them. My family is very special to me; they inspire me and I love them so much. They motivate me to write to the best of my ability. I’ve been writing since I was about four years old. I used to make up fables and shorter stories when I was younger; now I create longer stories and poems. I have always loved to write, and when I spotted the Brit Writers’ Awards I was delighted and I knew I wanted to enter! My writing role models are Malorie Blackman, Jacqueline Wilson and Constance Briscoe, because I love their books. When I’m older I’d like to be a barrister, author and singer - mainly being a barrister, and singing and writing in my spare time.”
“My friends always encourage me when it comes to my writing!”
Jalisa Lynch
Emily Madden Forman
(Individually Titled)
Laugh Out Loud!
“Hi, well, where do I begin? My name is Jalisa Lynch and I am 16 years old. This is going to sound so boring but I guess I am your average teenage girl. I love to go out with my friends to parties and we stay over at each other’s houses. I also really enjoy reading, therefore I do a lot in my spare time. It seems that I’m always on the hunt for a new and brilliant (often scary) book to read because I love being frightened!
“I am ten years old and in Year 5 at Thomas Jolyffe School in Stratford upon Avon. I was born in Greenwich and lived there until I was six. In 2005 we moved to Stratford upon Avon, to be nearer my grandparents.
I used to do many out-of-school activities but I don’t really have the time or money to do so any more, especially as I’ve been saving up to go away with my friends since finishing my GCSEs. I can’t wait! For GCSE I chose French, Spanish, History and Geography, and next year for A-level I am planning on taking Psychology, English Literature, French and History. I have been writing – probably very badly – since I could pick up a pen! My mum has always written songs and encouraged me to, but instead I try to write poetry or short stories whenever I have spare time. I find poems are a great way to make sense of situations so I have about four million notepads thrown around my room just filled with little poems or ideas. Thank you opportunity.”
for
this
great
“I have about four million notepads thrown around my room just filled with little poems or ideas”
I live with my mum and dad, two brothers (William and Henry) and Michelle our student lodger. Sometimes we have two students and I have to share a bedroom with the boys, which is not so great because they are only six and five. I love writing funny stories, painting and designin. I’m also really into sports and am a member of the local athletics club. I have swimming and recorder lessons on Saturday mornings, but otherwise I’m happiest when hiding up in the tree outside my house shaking the branches as people pass by. I wrote these poems after a dream I had which involved my teacher Mrs Mertens and aliens. We were studying poetry at school and I think this influenced my writing. I enjoy writing pieces of work with a funny twist. I am the biggest Harry Potter fan of all time, ever! I admire J K Rowling, but also really like Rupert Grint who plays Ron Weasley and I carry a picture around of him at all times. I am very excited to come to London; Mum and Dad rarely go out so it will be nice to see them dressed up! I feel as though I am coming home!”
“I enjoy writing pieces of work with a funny twist”
Alicia Pountney
A Quaint Combination of Selected Poems “My full name is Alicia Anne Pountney. I am 13 years old. I have been writing for about six years. My original primary school was Cotwall End (in Sedgley, West Midlands) but I moved to Blakeley Heath at the age of seven, as my family moved to Wombourne. It was also at Blakeley where I first discovered I could actually write! Soon enough, it was time to leave and so I came to be parted from my many friends. Nevertheless, I keep in touch with most of them and see one of my main friends, Becky, once a week. Then I came to be in Wolverhampton Girls High School and made some amazing friends: Jess, Charlotte and Sum. At Girls High I excelled further in my writing skills as well. I also became quite good at art, Russian and the sciences. However I am tone deaf and cannot play music if my life depended on it! Currently, I represent the school for athletics too: 100m sprint, 400m relay and long jump. When I am older, I aim to go to Oxford or Cambridge. I have many careers in mind, but I cannot decide really! I have thought about being a writer or an artist but if I do, it will be on the side of something else. I have considered marine biology, forensic science, veterinary science and archaeology.”
“It was at primary school where I first discovered I could actually write!”
Ishani Shome The Creator and the Creations “I was born in 1996 in Kolkata, India. When I was barely six weeks old I travelled with my mother to join my father in Cardiff. My toddler years were spent playing in the beautiful Roath Park. When I was three, my family moved briefly to Cyprus where I picked up few words of the Greek language and spent a great deal of time playing in the beaches and visiting heritage sites. My early schooling started in Wiltshire and this is where I first expressed myself as a poet with my creative writing. Even as a child, I enjoyed absorbing and contemplating the things I experienced, and expressing them. From an early age, I was read bedtime stories and poems, which might be what has generated my interest and made me an avid reader. Today my collection exceeds 300 books. At the age of nine, my family moved to Hertfordshire and this meant opportunities to strike up new friendships. The transition to Dr Challoner’s High School in Buckinghamshire has been the biggest change in my life so far, where I am thriving in the atmosphere of hard work and fun. I love poetry and continue to write poems in my spare time. I will probably continue to do so as long as I can.”
“From an early age, I was read bedtime stories and poems”
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the finalists
non-fiction (adult)
Exciting new writers submitted articles, essays, biographies and books – even dissertations – for consideration in our non-fiction category. Each piece was judged, among other criteria, on creativity and originality, reader engagement and suitability for publication.
non-fiction (adult)
Ghazala Butt
Rangzab Hussain
A Modest Proposal
The Flea by John Donne
About two years ago I decided to leave the rigmarole of a nine-tofive office job, to see if I could fulfil my lifetime ambition of becoming a full-time writer, or at least earn a liveable wage from doing what I love most: writing.
“Reading and writing bring me great joy and I take pleasure in spreading their magic to others. I have been writing for over a decade but I have only recently shown my work to friends in the last year or so and the feedback I have received has been positive and encouraging. It was due to a colleague at the school where I work that I finally decided to enter my work into the BWA competition.
I have always loved writing and of course reading, and have been known to get through five or six books (and not much else) in a week; but it is writing which allows me to express my thoughts and emotions, and fulfil my ideals, aspirations and hopes, at least on paper. I never travel anywhere without a notebook and a collection of pens, and have been known to while away many an hour (often in a crowded room), quietly scribbling away into one of my notebooks. There is something magnificent about the scratching of a fountain pen onto a blank page and the resulting composition of words, sentences and paragraphs that overwhelm me. I am the eldest of five siblings, mother to two gorgeous but sometimes ‘spirited’ children (I wouldn’t want them any other way), and wife to one (very understanding and at times putupon) husband. But most of the time I am just me, myself and I.”
“There is something magnificent about the scratching of a fountain pen onto a blank page”
I strongly feel that literacy could be improved by introducing children to books in the home environment. Also, the art of storytelling should be promoted. Children enjoy having a story read to them. Their listening skills improve, they develop their imaginations and eventually they will find the inspiration to pen a poem or story. I also have a passion for theatre, including opera and ballet, and take delight in watching films from around the world. Having heard and seen these different artistic creations I often write reviews. Literature and music are the heart and soul of any great civilised society. I try to visit museums and art galleries as often as I can to find inspiration for my own work. I use these ideas to produce my own canvases. Photography is another one of my hobbies which I employ to capture visual poetry.”
“Literature and music are the heart and soul of any great civilised society”
Katherine Locke Six Women on Twelve Walks “I live in Dorset with my partner and our various children. I have always been an avid reader. As a child, I was rarely seen without a book in my hand. Although I always kept notebooks, I felt that writing was something that other people did; exceptionally clever people or those with an innate talent. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007, I decided it was now or never to make the leap from reader to writer. I started by entering competitions, looking for a structure, for a brief and a deadline. I also started to make the time to write, to give it some importance in my day. I spent the first 40 years of my life reading and would like to spend the next 40 years writing. When I had time to work, I was Reader in Residence for children in care in Dorset. This lovely job involved promoting reading for pleasure for nine- to 16-year-olds in foster care and children’s homes throughout the county. I was also employed as Reader in Residence for the BBC’s Big Read and am a Reader for the Bridport Prize (short stories). This competition is incredibly important to me. Having the opportunity to have my work read by others and being judged by professional writers is the greatest boost to my writing confidence I could possibly hope for.”
“I spent the first 40 years of my life reading and would like to spend the next 40 years writing”
Kate Reynolds
Boy Story: To Inclusivity… And Beyond! “My catalyst for writing was profound disability eight years ago, during my last pregnancy. Astounded at the lack of knowledge of my medical illness, I wrote an article for British Journal of Midwifery (BJM), which was published unedited. BJM commissioned two further articles which inspired me to develop my writing. When, in 2005, my son was diagnosed as having autism spectrum disorder (ASD), I refocused my work onto autism. I believe that my family has three ‘A’s across three generations: my father has Alzheimer’s disease, my brother has alcoholism and my son has autism. Caring closely for these family members has shaped my desire to write about the impact of their conditions. Presently, my writing is divided between online news articles for an IT company and a book about my son’s autism, which is the work that has reached the BWA finals. With 17 years of working for the NHS in various roles across the UK, I have broad work experience. Additionally, I have spent over a year in total travelling alone in Southeast Asia and Australasia. I hope to use these life experiences in my future writing. The BWA has created a rare opportunity for me to fulfil a dream of having my book published.”
“A rare opportunity”
Hazel Roberts
Chris Walsh
Preserves
When Will They Ever Learn?
“Once I had developed my cooking skills I realised there were holes in the book market in need of filling. Because I grow my own fruit and vegetables I was interested in recipes that used seasonal British ingredients and helped to preserve them in times of plenty.
“I was born in Wolverhampton in 1949. After leaving school I had several different jobs before I qualified as a teacher at the College of St. Matthias in Bristol in 1972. Shortly afterwards I took up my position as a General Science and Biology teacher at Colne Valley High School in Yorkshire.
I couldn’t find a recipe book on the market that catered for my needs so I experimented in the kitchen, built up my own set of recipes and compiled them into a book, together with all the useful skills and tips I had learnt. During seven years at university, I began to write non-fiction. Upon leaving university I became a teacher for six years, but left that job to set up my own business and to spend more time with my two young daughters. It was whilst on maternity leave with my eldest daughter that I wrote my first non-fiction book – the combined recipe and gardening advice book – which I went on to self-publish. This was followed by my weaning guide whilst on maternity leave with my second daughter. Kitchen gardening and cooking are both passions of mine and I particularly enjoy making things from the fruit and vegetables I have grown both for my family and for sale to the public. For the past three or four years I have gathered a wealth of recipes and invaluable experience, which I have now compiled into two more recipe books.”
“I couldn’t find a recipe book that catered for my needs”
It was at Colne Valley High that I developed an interest in careers guidance work and left the school to qualify as a careers officer at Nottingham’s Trent Polytechnic. I went on to work with children with special educational needs with the Careers Service in Telford and South Shropshire and at the Royal National Institute for the Blind’s Condover Hall School, where I was responsible for the post-school placement of the school leavers. I was a founder member of the Vision Homes charity which provides long-term care for young people who are multi-disabled and visually impaired. I finished my career with Sandwell Connexions’ Learning Difficulties and Disabilities Team before retiring to Shropshire, where I live with my wife and daughter. I have been nervously hopeful as I watched the results from each round come in, uplifted as I was put through each stage, and finally delighted to have made the final. A rewarding experience that has given me renewed confidence.”
“I have been nervously hopeful as I watched the results from each round come in”
35
the finalists
Ifeoluwa Awonubi Monalisa Smile
The UK’s greatest unsigned singers and songwriters sent us in compositions for the listening pleasure of our music-industry judges. Our judges scored the entries using criteria that included creativity, originality and suitability for production and distribution.
songwriting (adult and 16 and under)
songwriting (adult and 16 and under)
“I was born in the UK to African parents and raised initially in Brighton, but it wasn’t until moving to Africa that the real spark for music was ignited in me. I also draw inspiration from artists such as Lenny Kravitz, Seal, Tracy Chapman, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Al Green and Prince. I’ve always been focused in my pursuit of my musical dream and dedicate a lot of time to developing my skills in singing and songwriting. I compose with my guitar and keyboard, which has resulted in an extensive list of songs in the 20 years I’ve been writing. I have appeared on several TV shows, including Michael Barrymore’s My Kind of Music, and Celebrity Stars in Their Eyes with Ian Wright and Patsy Palmer. More recently I have appeared on ACCTV on Sky, and have had numerous appearances on No Bling! and OBE and at the Kindred Spirit showcase (with Michelle Escoffery). I’ve honed my talent singing with different choirs, notably LCGC (London Community Gospel Choir). I have won several talent shows, appearing on MTV Base’s Battle of the Bands in conjunction with Oxjam music festival. I’m currently working on an EP with an album to follow.
“I’ve always been focused in my pursuit of my musical dream”
Blackpool Rockers (Jenny Cox-Raby and Keith Raby) Let’s Get Together and There She Goes
“My husband Keith and I hail from the seaside town of Blackpool in Lancashire, but our idea of Blackpool rock is not the traditional picture that springs to mind. As Blackpool Rockers we have been wowing crowds up and down the country for decades. Our musical careers have been a rollercoaster ride but, whilst coming close, we have never quite secured the big break needed to free our time and allow us to concentrate on our greatest love – songwriting. We have both worked in the music industry since leaving school. After playing in bands and writing songs separately we got together eight years ago and our combination of experience, innovative writing skills and musicianship ignited an explosion of creativity. We are currently appearing at venues across the UK but our greatest desire is to spend more time writing - and less time travelling the length and breadth of the country. Our eclectic output runs through a wealth of genres including pop, country, rock ballads, reggae and songs with a Christian theme. Our ultimate dream is to secure a songwriting deal and ultimately to produce chart toppers. Maybe our dream is about to come true…”
“Our greatest desire is to spend more time writing”
r)
Nigel Hanson
David Hardwick
An Empty Day
You Are In Every Sense
“I was a World War II baby, born in the Middle East. I have a British father and a Greek mother. My early childhood was divided between Palestine, Egypt, England and Australia.
“I was always quite musical as a teenager, but never had formal training. So there is a big gap in my songwriting career until I wrote my first song in 1999. My friend Robert Young suddenly put a completed song demo cassette into his car player and I thought, If he can write a song, I surely can?!
I was a polio victim in early childhood, and had a successful heart bypass shortly before the age of 50. My working life took me, amongst other interesting things, briefly down into sewer-systems to survey them with a CCTV camera. It ended when I stopped showing groups around the former Wembley Stadium because it closed in readiness for demolition. Along the way, there was a marriage, two lovely daughters, a divorce and lots of marvellous, undistinguished other stuff. I obtained a Diploma in Higher Education by independent study on a creative writing platform in the mid-1980s and now facilitate at a small writers’ group. Meanwhile, I try my hand mainly at songs, which I perform informally sometimes. I also try my hand at short stories, poems and the occasional play, as well as projected novels – all whilst rapidly running out of time (now aged 69), to turn any to account meaningfully. Music has always been in me: I was a cathedral chorister in Sydney, Australia. The lyrics of ‘An Empty Day’ were originally a poem of mine to which I added a tune and this led to the arrangement entered into this competition.”
“Music has always been in me”
I met the band Souls in Exile in Berlin and co-produced with Robert their demo album Circle Round the Sun to celebrate the August solar eclipse. These experiences got me really interested in songwriting. I am a member of the Guild of International Songwriters & Composers (GISC) and of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers & Authors (BASCA). I’ve achieved four semi-final placings in the UK Songwriting Contest. I have a continuing association with the British film industry. In 1997, as Executive Producer of Living Spirit Pictures (LSP), I raised the budget for the independent movie Urban Ghost Story, which was eventually screened on BBC One in October 2009. As an IT consultant (my daytime job), I have worked in several countries - Germany, France, Belgium and Switzerland and currently live abroad. My ambition is to write a song for the Eurovision Song Contest and becoming a BWA finalist is a step in the right direction!
“I thought, If he can write a song, I surely can?!”
Rahim Kawooya The Traveller “Aiming to provide a telling and inspirational alternative to meaningless music, I am a 22-yearold R&B singer / songwriter from Manchester focused on conveying my artistry to a mainstream audience. Specialising in a genre renowned for its clichéd lyrical content and commercialised sound, my goal is to establish myself as an artist dedicated to writing songs that inspire with their meaning while remaining stylish, fresh and relevant in their delivery. Since releasing my debut LP album The Traveller independently in early 2010, it has proved to be an internet success. The Traveller takes its listeners on a captivating journey through real-life experiences while transcending musical barriers and breaking commercial norm along the way. I’ve aimed to merge thoughtful songwriting with stunning instrumentation to create a truly unique blend of R&B, indie and even classical influences. I’ve been working tirelessly for over four years to strengthen my vocal, writing and production ability. Having toured the UK and Germany twice while sharing the stage with many renowned artists, I now hope my dream of positively influencing the world through music may start to materialise.”
“I hope my dream of positively influencing the world through music may start to materialise”
Public Symphony (Dobs Vye and James Reynolds) Fill Your Sails “We’re Dobs Vye (vocals, instruments) and James Reynolds (instruments, production, mixing) of Public Symphony. Ours is music crafted more for music lovers than pop charts. We independently released our self-titled debut to critical acclaim. In the UK, The Times named Public Symphony a Critics’ Choice Album of the Year – ‘lush, uplifting and self-released’ – while in the US Unsigned Music Magazine named the disc ‘album of the year’ and Public Symphony ‘group of the year’. Inspire is a reworking of that debut; here, the songs have been remixed, remastered and redesigned. Inspire is a hi-fi journey, crafted the old-fashioned way, designed to be heard in sequence, as a whole. ‘Fill Your Sails’ is the philosophical conclusion of that journey through life’s ups and downs. We are most at home in the studio; in it, we believe our atmospheric high-fidelity sound comes fully to life. James is a mix engineer for hire, while Dobs pursues music commissions in TV. We have been writing separately for as long as we can remember. But together, as Public Symphony, the act of creation is our inspiration. We love music that stirs the emotions, and hopefully we achieve that with our album.”
“We are most at home in the studio”
37
the finalists
songwriting (adult and 16 and under)
Yasin Ahmed
Ghettos of Bethnal Green “Hi, my name is Yasin Ahmed (former name is Sourov); stage name is King Sour Da Mc. I am a 15-year-old Bangladeshi youth living in East London. I’m a very artistic and a creative teenager. I love to help people get justice and I love to get to people’s hearts with lyrical skills that talk negative about everyday issues like drug abuse, love affairs, gang culture, racial hatred towards minorities, wars, etc. I started rapping when I was nine years old; at the time it was only a joke. I really focused on rapping and poetry in Year 8 at the age of 13 when I started writing and I entered a competition called SLAMbassadors hosted by The Poetry Society. Even though I didn’t win I was a semi-finalist and performed at the Royal Festival Hall. After that I kept on writing, hoping that one day I would do something better and succeed. I didn’t think much of it only because I was still new to the rapping and the poetry. I had nothing to lose only to gain. Now I have an even better chance to gain and to go somewhere in life, and open up the doors of opportunity for my future life. My favourite quote is, ‘There is always light at the end of the tunnel no matter how deep or dark it is’. I am the living proof of the truth of that quote.”
“Now I have an even better chance to gain and to go somewhere in life”
38
Shadi Ann Brown Goodbye “The world may see me as another ordinary person but the people that know me would say different. They would say that I am an individual who thrives off creativity; trendsetter rather than trend-follower. They would say that I am a person who uses my writing to express my feelings and emotions; being able to tap into them on a deeper level. They would say that I was a generous person who would give advice and share knowledge with others. I wonder what you would say if you knew me... Let me introduce myself. My name is Miss Shadi Ann Brown and I am 15 years of age. I was born in Birmingham and I currently attend Bournville School and Sixth Form Centre. Writing found me when I was 12 years old. Although I wasn’t serious in pursuing it at that time, the idea of it grew on me. I believe that if I never had the amount of strong support that I have from my family, friends and teachers, then I don’t think I would have made it this far in my writing because being able to submit personal songs and poems took a lot of courage from me. If others never believed in me and encouraged me to keep writing then I wouldn’t have known that I was good enough to become a finalist in such a competition. So for that, I feel truly blessed and I will definitely carry on with writing as a career.”
“I feel truly blessed and I will definitely carry on with writing as a career”
Conor McAfee and Natalie Kelly In Memory of You
“My name is Conor McAfee, I am 13 years old. I come from a small village in the famous Nine Glens of Antrim, Northern Ireland, called Cushendall. I have been interested in music since a very young age and mainly play piano but also guitar. I like listening to all styles of music from traditional sounds to Pixie Lott and Taylor Swift. I feel this reflects my musical style which is thoughtful and from the heart.” “My name is Natalie Kelly and I am from a slightly larger town in Country Antrim, Northern Ireland, called Ballycastle. I have been obsessed with music for as long as I can remember, asking for a guitar for my sixth birthday. My musical influences are diverse and I play drums and guitar. I enjoy listening to Avril Lavigne and Justin Bieber and would say stardom is my destiny. Our song is a very personal one and we wrote it together because we are such close friends and rely on each other a lot. It was written in dedication to close family members who died in the recent past. Getting this far has been a dream come true and writing this biography piece is helping, at last, to let the excitement finally sink in for both of us.”
“The words of this song say everything that we feel, think and love about these special people in our lives”
Freya Ridings Doubt “I was born and brought up in Palmers Green, North London with my mum, dad and brilliant little brother. I started writing music aged eight and completed my first full song at nine. I’ve always adored singing, playing piano and guitar and songwriting, and regularly play my own songs on the acoustic music circuit in my local area. I’d like to express my gratitude to my family for giving me so much freedom to be creative. I attended a local primary school and then a specialist arts secondary school to help with my dyslexia. For the last two years I’ve been home-schooled and now, having just turned 16, I’m nervously waiting for the results of my GCSEs! My musical influences include Aretha Franklin, Avril Lavigne, Beyoncé and Taylor Swift. I’m currently working on my first solo album, entitled Summer Storm, and have been fortunate enough to be offered a place at the BRIT School’s sixth form in London to study music; an immense honour. I’m ecstatic to be chosen as a Brit Writers’ Awards finalist in the under-16s songwriting category and this has really inspired me to keep on writing and pursue my lifelong dream of becoming a professional singer / songwriter.”
“I’m ecstatic to be chosen as a Brit Writers’ Awards finalist”
’
u o Y f o y r o m e M n ‘I t u o Ab
“This song was written by myself, Conor McAfee, and my friend Natalie Kelly. The inspiration came from extremely tragic and traumatic events in both our lives which eventually saw us become firm friends. I lost my dad very suddenly two years ago. He was out training for the Belfast Marathon which he ran in as part of the local RNLI team. While out running with the local running club he suffered a fatal heart attack. He was only 41 and extremely fit and healthy and this was a total shock to me, my brothers, my mum and everyone who knows us. Natalie also found herself in a similar situation when her little cousin died at only one day old. Little Erin was a long-awaited baby and her death was a big shock to the entire family. We were suddenly in a situation which we found impossible to deal with. At 11 years old it was difficult to find an outlet for our grief and frustration. Having always loved playing and listening to music we found that by playing our instruments we got some relief from our worries and fears. My dad always supported me in my music and loved to listen to me sing and play and would often say I got my talent from him! Our school organised counselling and together we wrote this song to help us understand what had happened to us and how we felt in the situations that we unexpectedly found ourselves in. The words of this song say everything that we feel, think and love about these special people in our lives.”
Speech Debelle Mercury Prize-winning rap artist Speech Debelle supports the Brit Writers’ Awards for giving people the chance to shine, whatever their age, background or culture. Her advice to aspiring songwriters is to be confident and don't dither: "Whatever you're working on, get it finished – don't give up. It's important to just get it all down." eech Therapy:
eech Debelle’s album Sp
Extract of lyrics from Sp
oud of see in my life that I’m not pr es ak st mi me so de ma I’ve be harder for me an now I’m trying it will me n’t es do at th e hop I And ason an excuse but it’s a re I been hurt and it’s not e or a season ppen in life for a lifetim ha s ing th me so e lik It’s rks how this world really wo And I’m just now learning t forth u get back what you pu yo ys sa at th law a e’s Ther me man ing nothing ain’t good for do d oun ar g nin run is th All me. or’s up and it’s looking at rr mi is th so ty idi up st It’s
the finalists
stories for children
Catherine Cooper
Hazel Eggleton
Kahryn Hughes
The Ghost of Widdecot Manor
Dragon Tooth
“I qualified as a teacher in 1977 and gained an honours degree in History and Sociology the following year. I began teaching in 1979 and after 29 years in primary schools, my career came to an end due to ill health.
“I was born in Oldham and attended a traditional grammar school, which offered wonderful opportunities for children from working-class backgrounds such as me. I graduated from Durham University in 1969 with a degree in French and went on to complete a PGCE the following year. I married in 1970 and had two sons.
“I have always been passionate about reading and writing children’s stories. I am seduced by how writers can produce stories that form childhood memories, providing that realm of fantasy and ‘what if’ through which children can explore and reflect on different aspects of growing up.
In the hope of enchanting our judges, unpublished or self-published writers with wonderful imaginations sent us their stories for children. Our judges marked each piece on – among other things – its characters and storyline, originality and creativity, and age-appropriateness.
stories for children
The Golden Acorn: The Adventures of Jack Brenin
Finding myself at home, with time on my hands, I finally had the opportunity to write ‘the book’ I always said I would. The one book has now become six; three in print and three in the process of being edited and illustrated, with more planned for the future. I have several plays for children, gathering dust in the attic, which I intend to look at again and put together into a book. For one of my birthday parties I wrote a murder mystery for 92 people. I write short stories for adults under the name of Meredith Thorne. I live in Shropshire with my husband, who co-illustrates my books. We don’t have any children or a television. At the moment we are petless although we’ve had quite an assortment in the past. Our house is full of books with cupboards and drawers full of art and craft materials.
My career was teaching French in various primary and secondary schools and, for the last 20 years of my career, in University College School in Hampstead, London, from where I retired five years ago. Since I retired, I have had much more time to devote to this pursuit and have written two adventure novels for the nine-to-12 category and a teenage novel, dealing with the problem of addiction. Also I have written shorter stories for children and adults, several picture stories, some poetry and a fulllength stage play. My hobbies include attending a creative-writing group, U3A French and Spanish groups and a philosophy class, involving political philosophy and ethics from the Greeks onwards. A walking group is my rather feeble concession to keeping fit!
My Jack Brenin series is set in my home county of Shropshire. I love Shropshire’s countryside, its myths, legends and forests. I wanted to write the kind of magical fantasy adventure story I would have enjoyed reading to my classes, had I still been teaching.”
Looking after my delightful granddaughter is a great pleasure one day a week and I hope that, as she gets older, she will inspire me with more ideas. Like all aspiring writers, my hope is one day to see my stories in print.”
“For one of my birthday parties I wrote a murder mystery for 92 people”
“Like all aspiring writers, my hope is one day to see my stories in print”
A lot of my time is spent occupying that fantasy realm in my own head, where story fragments constantly buzz around waiting to be written down; although I am not sure any of this helps me grow up. I started writing when I was around 11 years old, but really got in my stride in my early twenties, winning two short story competitions, and receiving a letter from Sir William Golding as part a final prize. Since then I have completed a PhD and started a family, as well as writing innumerable short stories and several novels, mainly for children and young adults. Only now, however, am I really able to draw together the appropriate elements of good writing and am excitedly working on a children’s novel that should be completed very soon. Professionally, I am a sociologist, researching the areas of addiction, identity and relationality. I live in Bolton with my husband and our two amazing sons. If I were a stick of rock and you cut me in half, their names would run through the middle of me.”
“Story fragments constantly buzz around”
Heather Kilgour
Rachel Meehan
In Through My Window
Water
“I grew up in New Zealand and decided to become an artist after visiting a gallery when I was five. In 1990 I graduated from the Otago School of Fine Arts. I spent the following few years making and exhibiting sculpture, and appliedart items in steel.
“Born in 1966 into a large family and raised in Dumfries, my first passion in life was art. After a Foundation Course at London College of Printing I completed a BA Honours degree at Lancashire Polytechnic followed by a postgraduate diploma in Fine Art (Printmaking) at Glasgow School of Art, graduating in 1990. I won the Teachers Whisky Postgraduate Art award and exhibited at Aberdeen City Art Gallery followed by several solo shows across Scotland. After a number of years working as a printmaker, I worked on various arts-related projects, including a period with a touring theatre company. Following on from a highly commended entry into the Grolsch National Short Story competition I wrote some articles for a Scottish youth magazine.
In 1999 I completed a Masters from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. Between 2000 and 2005 I worked as a film sculptor on The Lord of the Rings, King Kong and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. While involved in the film industry I met talented illustrators and artists, including Tolkien illustrator Alan Lee, his daughter Virginia, and Freya Blackwood, who has been nominated for the 2010 Kate Greenaway medal. This led to my pursuing a career in children’s book illustration. I started writing in 2005 to have stories to illustrate. I was lucky to be encouraged in my writing by Martin Baynton, who was developing the children’s television programme Jane and the Dragon. I quickly realised there is a lot more to writing a children’s story than I thought. Since moving to London in 2007 I have attended a children’s book writing course at Birkbeck College London and a writing course run by Miriam Halahmy at the Highgate Literary Institute. I joined the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators in 2007.”
“I quickly realised there is a lot more to writing a children’s story than I thought”
I relocated to the Scottish Borders in the 1990s and my career took a different turn when I took a post with an economic development agency as a project manager. I have been writing dedicatedly for the last five years, mainly work for young adults, and Water is my second completed manuscript. Reading has always been important, especially books with strong memorable characters; something I have always aimed to achieve within my own writing. I have a strong interest in current affairs and the environment. When I am not working I spend my time with my partner looking after our garden.”
“Reading has always been important, especially books with strong memorable characters”
Nigel Speight
Barnaby’s Grandad and the Magic Number “I’m from Brighton but have lived in Oxford for 40 years since studying English Literature at St John’s College. It’s great living in a medieval city brimming with youth, tensions and associations. I have been a teacher (Head of English) and an A-level examiner but also, for 30 years now, a statistician in the gambling industry. Our software generates soccer statistics in two newspapers and I have run a mail-order business selling systems, data and software. We helped with the Virgin Lottery bid and our plans once won £400,000 and £1.2m for different customers in successive weeks. So writing has always been a guilty pleasure: I’m nearly always doing it when I ought to be doing something else and I have never been that bothered about publication. Until now! My wife is brilliant with kids, so we often have them around and they have helped me grow older without completely growing up. There is nothing more uplifting than the laughter of children. Barnaby’s Grandad and the Magic Number grew out of my granddaughter’s struggles with maths. I just thought there must be ways to make maths more fun.”
“Writing has always been a guilty pleasure”
Nick Walker Charlotte’s Incredible Tantrums “I was born in Bristol in 1963, the middle one of three brothers. My mum came from Halifax and my dad grew up in Hyde, Cheshire. She was an English teacher and he was a Unitarian church minister, so we moved around a bit, settling in Cambridge when I was five. I have always loved reading, football, music and nature. Growing up, my favourite books were Where the Wild Things Are, Struwwelpeter, Tintin and Busy, Busy World. After university I got a job in publishing and, 22 years later, I’m still there! I work as an editor for Proquest, an electronic publisher of reference collections for the library market. I’ve been writing children’s fiction and short stories in my spare time since 1995, with an MSc study break between 1999 and 2002. Encouragement from Oxford University Press led me to rewrite a short novel, Maelstrom, which was picked up by an editor at Bloomsbury in 2005, only to fall at the sales and marketing hurdle. In 2006 I was taken on by the agents Curtis Brown on the strength of my picture book texts, but they were unable to place my work. I live in Cambridge with my wife, Louise and my three children, Theo (14), Martha (11) and Charlotte (seven).
“Encouragements from Oxford University Press led me to rewrite a short novel”
41
the finalists
The UK’s most exciting new authors submitted short stories (between 1,000 and 5,000 words) on any subject, for consideration by our judges. The marking criteria included: well-developed characters and storyline, originality, creativity and an ability to engage readers.
short stories (adult)
short stories (adult)
Jo Cannon
Jon Fortgang
Sophie Hampton
Salt Man
A Storm in the Carmargue
Vanilla Musk
“I am a GP in inner-city Sheffield. The child of two librarians, I was born and grew up in Dagenham, Essex. In primary school I wanted to be an author, but changed my mind at 12 and decided to be a doctor.
“I was born in Slough in 1970, grew up in Amersham and Oxford and went to university in Birmingham, where I did a degree in Philosophy.
“I started writing in my spare time in my late 20s when I was inspired, ironically, by an uncreative career in office management; my first attempts at writing were two novels loosely based on personal experience. For the past three years I have concentrated on writing short stories and I have had a number of successes in competitions although none as big as the Brit Writers’ Awards!
I started writing short fiction six years ago. My first story won the Writers Inc Writer of the Year Award 2005. My stories have appeared in magazines such as The Reader, Mslexia, Cadenza, Brand and New Writer, and in anthologies including Route, Leaf and the Willesden Herald. I have won or been placed in many competitions, including runner-up in Fish International 2007. My vocation inspires my fiction. Working as a doctor in Malawi also had a lasting influence on my life and writing. I enjoy making up tales that have the shape, clarity or happy endings not always apparent in life. Certain themes recur: the compromises that enable us to survive displacement, change and loss; the surreal nature of altered mental states; and the redemptive power of love in all its forms. Insignificant Gestures, my first collection, has been accepted by the independent publisher Pewter Rose for publication later this year. I am married with two teenage sons.”
“My vocation inspires my fiction”
I’m married to Mandi and have lived in London for the last 15 years. During that time I’ve done all sorts of jobs, but most recently I have worked as a journalist. Until 2009 I was Editor of Film4’s website where I was lucky enough to watch and write about hundreds of movies. I’m fascinated by language, characters and storytelling and am constantly jotting down lines and ideas for stories, novels and poems. Most of these come to nothing, or don’t go quite where I want them to, but even when I’m not trying to write fiction I’m thinking about it, reading it, or chiding myself for not doing it. I’m currently trying to complete both a novel and what I hope will form a proper collection of short stories. My favourite writers are Graham Greene, Geoff Dyer, Chris Petit, Denis Johnson and Wells Tower. Apart from reading and writing, I love films – particularly moody movies from places I’ll never go – and music. When I was younger I spent a long time knocking around in bands which never got anywhere and I’m still obsessed with tracking down obscure old indie albums. I’m also a keen runner.
“Even when I’m not trying to write fiction I’m thinking about it”
I particularly enjoy writing from the viewpoint of children and young adults. Nature is also important in my work; I love the outdoors and many of my short stories have a strong sense of place. During the last four years I have lived in London, south west France, Norfolk, Sheffield and now the Peak District – a variety of inspirational settings. Earlier this year, I was delighted to be offered a place on the MA in Creative Writing at Sheffield Hallam starting in September 2010. I am very much looking forward to studying on this renowned course. Reaching the BWA finals has given me a great deal of self-confidence to pursue my dream which is to write published novels. It has been a pleasure working with the BWA and I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has been involved in organising the competition.”
“Reaching the finals has given me a great deal of self-confidence to pursue my dream”
Helen Hardy
Wes Lee
Crush
Fugue
“I have been writing since I could hold a pen, starting with extensive disquisitions on chocolate moose, mouse and muse. By the time I learned to spell mousse, I knew that words were fascinating and serendipitous things, although as I grew up my work as a washer-up, designer radiator salesperson and civil servant tended to distract me from putting my ideas on paper. In 2008 I took a break from work to develop my writing, drafting short stories, poems and my first novel Mother of the World, named after its setting in Cairo.
“Born in Lancashire, of Irish descent, I emigrated to New Zealand with my parents as a child in the 1970s, and have spent my time living, travelling and working in both global hemispheres.
My normally sedate existence is punctuated by outbreaks of frivolity – purely in the interests of having something to write about, of course - such as singing in a rock band, getting married just when the seven-year itch should have been setting in, and forming part of a human pyramid. I’m a member of the East Dulwich Writers’ Group, whose honest but sympathetic feedback really sustains my enthusiasm. At present, I’m working on a South London comedy thriller about what happens when your perfect new home has a body in the kitchen, as well as researching a series set in both modern Norwood and the historic Great North Wood. My most important current project, though, is preparing for the arrival of our first child, due just in time for the Brit Writers’ Awards ceremony!”
“My most important current project is preparing for the arrival of our first child, due just in time for the Brit Writers’ Awards ceremony!”
Formerly a lecturer in Fine Arts at the Auckland University of Technology, I began writing short stories in 2005. Since then I have won a number of awards in the UK and New Zealand, including the Short Fiction New Writers Competition (University of Plymouth Press); the Over The Edge New Writer of The Year, in Galway; The New Writer Prose & Poetry Prize, the City of Derby Short Story Competition; and the Flosca Short Story Prize. I was awarded second place in the Kate Braverman Prize, in San Francisco; the Writers-of-The-Year Competition (London Writers Inc), judged by Mario Petrucci and Sue Hubbard; and runner-up in the 2007/08 International Fish Publishing Short Story Prize. I have also been shortlisted for numerous short story awards, including the Walter Scott Prize 2010, in London (Salt Publishing); the 2010 William Soutar Writing Prize, in Scotland; the Brian Moore Short Story Award, in Belfast; the BNZ Katherine Mansfield Awards; the Grist Short Story Competition (University of Huddersfield). I live with my partner, overlooking the harbour in Wellington.”
“I have been shortlisted for numerous short story awards”
Ann Monica
Steven Tromans
Marnie
The Short Story
“I have been writing ever since I could hold the stub of a crayon and reach the bedroom wallpaper. I always say it’s not my fault.
“I’m 35 and for 15 years I’ve been living in North London. I live with my wife and two young daughters and we have another baby on the way. Everyone thinks their family comprises the most amazing and special beings ever to have arrived on earth. Mine actually does.
I began my working life in the late 1960s as a window dresser in Birmingham, and there, by keeping perfectly still, I acquired my observation skills. Then I married and produced the children that occupied my every waking moment and taught me various emotions. I kept window dressing for money with a baby strapped on my back. The constant need for cash led me to relocate to Wiltshire, edit a newspaper and attempt to sell double-glazing. I also became the UK’s first female computer games writer and, later, a killer of head lice by less poisonous means. At the age of 49 I went to university for the first time and obtained an MA in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University. With certificate in hand I began lecturing in the subject for Wiltshire colleges. I cook the evening meal and escape into short and long storywriting landscapes. I have three grown children, a supportive husband, a Basenji, and I don’t suffer from incapacitating headaches.”
I’m also a primary-school teacher, working in a school in Tottenham. I love being a teacher mainly because I like the kids so much. They’re all amazing in some way or other and they make me laugh lots and make sure I’m never bored. I used to work in publishing but I was rubbish at it and kept getting stressed. Before that I did an Oceanography degree because I thought it would help me drift into publishing then teaching, which it did. I still consider myself a scientist. I’ve always wanted to write because I have lots of ideas and I thought I might not be too awful at it. A few years ago I did a couple of creative-writing courses, but never really followed it up. Then late last year I started writing in earnest and finished two short stories. ‘The Short Story’ is the second of these.”
“I used to work in publishing but I was rubbish at it and kept getting stressed”
“By keeping perfectly still, I acquired my observation skills”
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the finalists
Talented unknown poets each submitted a collection of five poems, with a minimum of six lines and a maximum of 40 lines per poem (unless it was a haiku). Our judges’ criteria included: interesting content, good poetical form and successfulcommunication of the poems’ core concepts.
poetry (adult)
poetry (adult)
David C. Byrne
Melanie Freeman
Tricia Heighway
Foreign Bodies
Special Poems
If I … Collection
“I consider that the nature of what I do within my profession has informed and shaped who I am as a writer, particularly due to the amazing lives that sit in front of me. Some might say they are refugees, asylum seekers or migrants. I say people.
“I was born in 1963 and was one of seven children. We were brought up by our mother, a single parent, on a small council estate in Sinfin, Derby. I left home at 13 years old and school at 15 years old, with no qualifications.
“I started writing two years ago, but suspect I have produced around 400,000 words in this short time, getting those years of not writing out of my system. I write both prose and poetry and consider my main writing strengths to be humour and empathy.
My writing has developed over the years, but the essence of what I create has always focused on how language expresses who we are and how we are intrinsically all the same. I like to think that my writing is quite grounded and uncomplicated with an attention to form and sound. I write about many aspects of life but I am particularly interested in themes of personal and social identity and like to think the many layered effect of my writing reflects this. I was fortunate enough to have Carol Ann Duffy as one of my tutors during my MA in Creative Writing and I learned that being economic with language is perhaps one of the strongest ways to express ideas. During my writing career I have had several pieces published with various journals and anthologies, such as Succour Issue 4, Conversation Quarterly and Muse 6. I am a firm believer that writing should be heard as well as read and have often performed pieces in various venues in the North. I also organised and co-ordinated a performance poetry evening called ´Mouthy´ as part of the 2007 Chorlton arts festival.”
“I was fortunate enough to have Carol Ann Duffy as one of my tutors”
I have been writing poetry since I was nine, which I read on the local radio. After having my last child, I trained to become a breastfeeding counsellor with Sure Start, where I wrote a poem to promote breast feeding in my local area. I was then asked if I would like to do an NVQ course in short stories and poems, and gained a Level 2 in both. I also did a course in community development and gained an NVQ there too. I helped to make Derby a breastfeeding-friendly city with the support of the mayor and other healthcare professionals. In 2002 I was asked to put some poems together to be published through Sure Start and Rolls-Royce, to sell and help buy toys for the children in the local community. I also enjoy spending time with my five children (three boys and two girls), and my 12 grandchildren; and have been with my husband for 31 years. My hope for the future is to show my children that you can always achieve something if you try.”
“I wrote a poem to promote breastfeeding in my local area”
So far, I have written four novels, now in various stages of edit: a young adult fantasy, a supernatural romantic comedy, a comedy chicklit and a murder mystery; plus many short stories and poems. I was born in Leicester but brought up in Bournemouth. I sang, acted and daydreamed my way through school, which was also the last time, until two years ago, that I wrote anything. Despite dreams of being the next Olivia NewtonJohn, I reluctantly trained as a nurse. After qualifying at a London teaching hospital, I moved to Kent and worked as a staff nurse and then a ward sister. Eight years later, I moved to Hampshire to work as for an assistance company helping sick and injured travellers overseas. A marriage and two children later, I returned to hospital nursing, stopping when a neck injury in 2008 left me with permanent nerve damage in my right hand. I decided to try and be a full-time writer, and prefer the new day job to the old one. I live in north Hampshire with my husband, two teenage children, an elderly cat and gerbils.”
“I consider my main writing strengths to be humour and empathy”
Rosa Johnson
A Collection of Poetry – Part 2 “In this, the first year of the Brit Writers’ Awards Unpublished, I will reach 74 years of age... My first poem was written following an English grammar lesson. I was spotted passing a note to my neighbour. ‘All bust and buttocks, she Now there’s a nice hyperbole.’ The nonsense poem I produced in detention appeared in the school magazine. I trained in Agriculture at Seale Hayne College and wrote reviews, enjoying my new-found talent for rhyming humour. While teaching animal husbandry and dairying, I married into horticulture. We have two children. A keen sportswoman, I follow sport avidly but am no longer able to partake due to failed spinal surgery. Sheer boredom precipitated me into writing. In 1993 I co-founded Titchfield writing group WordWrights. With two unpublished children’s novels under my belt I have also completed one adult novel; two remain unfinished. An experienced amateur actress, I’ve written pantomime and three Son et Lumières for production locally. Drama academies have successfully used my work for children, in shows and festivals. My husband David and I, and an English pointer named Liza, live in a house with a lovely garden, near the Hampshire coast.”
“Sheer boredom precipitated me into writing”
Philippa Rae
Ashaur Rahman
Rhyme Time
Hidden Treasure
“I have been an assistant radio producer for the BBC for the last five years, in children’s radio programmes. I have produced many programmes on BBC Radio 7, including the The Big Toe Radio Show for nine to 12 year olds, and in the last three years I have been an assistant producer for CBeebies Radio. During this time I have produced stories and work by professional authors, which is where I gained my inspiration to start writing myself. I only really started writing stories and poetry more seriously in the last year and have set myself a goal to have a picture book published.
“I’m 23 years old and from Northampton. I’m an aspiring new writer. I left school at 16 with average GCSEs and ended up stacking shelves at the Co-op.
I have a BA Honours majoring in Dance and an MA in Film and Television Studies. Initially I wanted to be involved in the theatre and worked professionally as a dancer. Teaching children dance was a passion and I enjoyed success choreographing pieces for children in The British Arts Awards. I loved creative writing as a child but it lay dormant whilst I pursed other avenues. I have had some poems and five short stories published in children’s anthologies and the Brit Writers’ Awards final will be my first major success in any writing competition. I am thrilled to have reached this far and in total shock.”
“I loved creative writing as a child but it lay dormant whilst I pursed other avenues”
After that stint I got a job as a trainee printer for a Northampton print firm (where I currently work as a printer). In 2008 I achieved a Modern Apprenticeship in Level 3 Printing & Graphic Communication In 2009 I was hit with the creative bug. I was tired of the monotonous life I was living and challenged myself to do something big. The local newspaper had organised a five-minute film competition for fledgling filmmakers. I always wanted to make a short film and being a film lover myself I jumped at the opportunity. I wrote, directed, produced, edited and even played a cameo role in The Intervention, a crime thriller set in my home town. Even though the film wasn’t shortlisted, I knew that I had found my skill in creativity. Since The Intervention (no pun intended) I really haven’t put the pen down. I’ve written a feature-length film script called Even Conscience and currently working on another two projects intended for the screen. Oh and another thing, I also enjoy writing poetry and one day I wish to publish a unique book containing my poems.”
“I was tired of the monotonous life I was living and challenged myself to do something big”
Alan Wolfson
Sharp Corners Come From Wales “As the self-appointed pencil sharpener of pointlessness, I effortlessly blur the line between a bit hazy and completely out of focus. Words and images spill out of the tumble dryer of my imagination like warm damp things that could have done with another ten minutes. I was born in the middle of the twentieth century, in the middle of Cardiff. I studied graphics at Cardiff College of Art and West of England College of Art and Design. Quite suddenly I dropped my paintbrushes and careered off at a tangent to become ‘Alan Mann’ the DJ. I found my way into broadcasting, which took me to a biscuit factory in West London, Capital Radio in South Africa, Radio Luxembourg in Mayfair, and Classic FM s where I won two Sony Awards for Alan Mann’s Packed Lunch. In 2000 I picked up my brushes again and produced a collection of paintings, exhibited at the annual Crouch End Open Studios, Wood Green Chocolate Factory, and the Ariel Gallery in Dartington, Totnes. In between canvases, I took to penning verse. I revisited my radio copywriting skills, and set about liberating them from the inconvenient parameters of a brief and a deadline. Consequently, my first collection, My Convex is Your Concave, is three years late, and nobody asked for it.
“Words and images spill out of the tumble dryer of my imagination”
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the finalists novels (adult)
Unpublished or self-published authors sent us at least the first three chapters and a synopsis of their full-length novels. Our judges looked for, among other things, well- developed characters and storyline, originality, creativity, reader engagement and potential for publication.
novels (adult)
David Harding
Murdo John Macleod
Restricted to Beer
Beat the City
“I was one of those teenagers who had no idea what they would like to do when they left school. The subject I was best at I unfortunately ruled out – English - because I would spend half the lesson staring at a blank page wondering where to start.
“I’m a 29-year-old male living in Glasgow. Born in Scotland, I have lived there most of my life with the exception of a year in Cardiff and a year travelling the world after graduating. I obtained a degree in Maths from Glasgow University and it has led to me working in the financial departments of numerous companies. At the moment I work for the British Red Cross, ensuring that volunteers and delegates across the globe receive the necessary expenses to continue their good work.
I settled on Art and found my first job as a package designer but the pay was poor. Somehow I landed up in telephony. BT didn’t have a university sponsorship programme for artists – the nearest was Maths and Science - but the degree allowed me to move to a research station in Suffolk. From there I ended up as a computer networks specialist for Nestlé. It was the separation from my wife and children, seeing them as little as once a month, that induced the writing. I had to make some sense of my loneliness and the only way for me was comedy. Ever since leaving school I would write short comedy sketches but they were on scraps of paper that invariably got lost. So a couple of years ago I rewrote them all as best as I could remember. It was then that I saw a story was possible and here we are several revisions later. As a late convert I can fully appreciate the Brit Writers’ Awards concept. We all need help to start. I recognise that the BWA has put so much work into this competition. I’ve tried my very best to match that effort with the work I’ve put into the novel.”
“It was the separation from my wife and children... that induced the writing”
The writing bug began when I was at school studying for my English higher; my charismatic tutor who, upon introducing me to something called ‘existentialism’, decided to initiate a rewrite of my sloppy dissertation. From then on I was hooked, all because my teenage brain couldn’t understand how a person could weigh down a simple thriller with such complex themes. Over the last 12 years I have kept up my favourite hobby and I have now completed three novels. Beat the City, my third novel, has been the easiest and also the quickest one to write; and, as my old English tutor would have said, that undoubtedly comes from experience.”
“My teenage brain couldn’t understand how a person could weigh down a simple thriller with such complex themes”
Pam Nixon
A World Elsewhere “Why did I, the child who wrote stories, the teenager who wrote plays and poetry, lose my creativity for so long? Was it the male-dominated university, the subliminal message of that era: women were second rate? Was it early marriage, four children, those years in a philistine expat community where parties and appearances were allimportant? Or, back in England, was it the financial pressure that pushed me into full-time teaching? Or was it involvement in left-wing politics, or the further degree? Both took time that might have been spent on my own writing? No regrets, it’s all material. More interestingly how did I recover that early creativity? Well firstly, thank you to the headmaster who turned me down for promotion. Abandoning career ambitions I joined a poetry group, which started me writing again. Thank you to the Arvon Foundation where I met people who didn’t see writing as a weird activity. Thank you to the Oxford Literary Consultancy for putting me in touch with a wonderful mentor. Now at last I have the courage to say to people, ‘I am writing a novel’; ‘I have written a novel’; ‘I am making notes for my second novel’. How wonderful if I could say, ‘I have just had my novel published’. I live in hope.”
“I met people who didn’t see writing as a weird activity”
Julie Noble Talli’s Secret
Martin Perry Jack Bracken
“I started writing as a seven-yearold. I began sending my words out to magazines while still at school, and two tiny pieces found their way into anthologies of women’s writing while I was still a teenager.
“I was born in Bournemouth, Dorset in 1948 and left school without qualifications at the age of 15, whereupon I moved to London and worked in the film industry until the age of 21.
At Lancaster University I studied Psychology, and in my final year, two weeks after taking exams, gave birth to my first child Jess. I married and in time Jonny and Rob were born. Writing was interspersed with raising children and a variety of jobs including appearing on television as an extra for Heartbeat.
I was not impressed with the speed, egos and superficiality of the showbusiness life and in 1970 moved to Snowdonia in North Wales. For the next ten years I was a shepherd both in Snowdonia and for the last three years near Cirencester.
My son Jonny, seven, had recently been diagnosed with dyspraxia, and I found I knew very little about it, despite my degree, so I joined the Dyspraxia Foundation for information. At the time I was reading about the Brontës, and an article in the Dyspraxia Foundation magazine highlighted Maria Brontë’s possible dyspraxia. When the author suggested I write a ‘crossover’ novel, I knew I wanted to write something that reflected my son’s condition and his problems with daily life, as well as including the Brontës’ story. So Talli’s Secret was born. Since then, happily, the family has gained a new dad, Andy, and two more children, Melissa and Leon. Recently, I have been writing short stories (often shortlisted), had pieces in Mslexia magazine and have just won the She magazine short story competition.”
“I knew I wanted to write something that reflected my son’s condition”
A back injury, I think from shearing too many sheep, forced me to find a less physically demanding job. For the next ten years I worked for a small specialist company in Cirencester that produced highquality replicas of a variety of museum objects. It is not so much that I want to be a ‘writer’, much more that there was a book inside me that needed to fight its way out. What actually happened with Jack Bracken was that my daughter found a nearly dead dog and gave it to me. I looked after it for a year until it actually did die. The dog was an inspiration. I wrote a page about her as a sort of memorial, and then another and another. It is a book from the heart.”
“There was a book inside me that needed to fight its way out”
Pamela Vincent
Evidence / Swamps and Marshes “Born in the Bronx, I began writing when I was four years old, and haven’t stopped since. My first stories, ‘Twinkle the Runaway Christmas Star’ and ‘The Magic Rocking-Horse’ were about running away from home and coming back, which seems to be my subject, still. London has been my home since I was 21. I came to study Keats’s life and work, and stayed. I’ve written poems, short stories, fictionalised memoirs and this novel, Swamps and Marshes. I love reading my work to groups and want to write accessible texts that also manage to touch people deeply. Reading a story about my mother and grandmother, ‘Running Away from Mama’, to a group at the Barbican Library in 2003, was a memorable experience. People came up to me afterwards, women particularly, and told me how it reminded them of their own experiences. Swamps and Marshes is also a love letter to Florida, where my late parents lived. The savage wildlife, weather and landscape of the Everglades fascinate me. The story just came to me, one day, when I was asked to describe my favourite novel. I visualised an abused child meeting a fisherman by a creek, and the novel was born. My life is divided between Hove, Sussex, and London. When not writing or doing yoga, I can be found tending my roses.”
“My novel is a love letter to Florida, where my late parents lived”
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Published Writer of the Year Award
Writer of The Published is our only the Year Award shed authors. li b u p r fo ry o g te ca e exclusively Entries were mad K publishing by established U s in English houses, for book t published that were firs ths of the within 24 mon line. competition dead dges’ ten Here are our ju ies, with shortlisted entr ents from supportive statem publishers their respective e winner or agents. Th selected tonight has been by public vote.
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The Rapture by Liz Jensen (Bloomsbury)
Netherland by Joseph O’Neil (Fourth Estate: HarperCollins)
Support for The Rapture
Support for Netherland
“I am delighted that The Rapture has been selected for the shortlist for the first Brit Writers’ Awards. We submitted this gripping, thoughtprovoking novel for the awards because we felt that Liz’s journey as a writer could serve as an inspiration to new writers. Her novels are wildly original, each tackling a different ‘what if’ scenario, and each more ambitious than the last. The Rapture is her seventh novel, and arguably her best so far. As Irvine Welsh said in his review in the Guardian, ‘It’s a masterclass on how to write an engaging thriller about a relevant contemporary issue while still respecting the reader’s brain cells.’
“We at Fourth Estate are very pleased to hear that Joseph O’Neill’s Netherland is a finalist for the Brit Writers’ Awards Published Writer of the Year 2010. Netherland is a book of great wisdom; a book that reads you as you read it. Prizes are a very important way for great books to be more widely noticed, and the Brit Writers’Awards are doing exceptional work in this area.”
At Bloomsbury we recognise that it is important to promote new talent and bring a fresh perspective to the fore. We are proud that our list includes many authors who are publishing work for the first time. They come from every corner of the world and from every walk of life – they are chefs, rock stars, bus drivers, doctors and teachers who have all proved that diversity is an integral part of the literary landscape today. The Brit Writers’ Awards is a fantastic initiative that will encourage a new generation of writers from all backgrounds to discover their voice.” Alexandra Pringle, Editor in Chief, Bloomsbury
Mark Richards, Editor, Fourth Estate
The Swimmer by Roma Tearne (HarperPress)
Missing You by Louise Douglas (Macmillan)
Support for The Swimmer
Support for Missing You
“I’m delighted Roma Tearne has been shortlisted by the Brit Writers’ Awards for the Published Writer of the Year Award. She is a brilliant novelist, whose writing shines with her ability to evoke landscape and emotion. Her first novel, Mosquito, was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award and her third, Brixton Beach, has recently featured in Channel 4’s The TV Book Club, gaining critical acclaim and commercial success.
“Missing You is a haunting story of guilt, fear of the past and learning to love again. Louise Douglas has the most incredible talent for writing about love, and her understanding of human relationships and her ability to transfer this to the page is quite extraordinary.
Roma’s new novel, The Swimmer, is an extraordinarily powerful novel of love and loss, dealing with questions of identity and compassion through the plight of Ben, a young man fleeing the conflict in Sri Lanka. Reaching the end of his journey in Suffolk, his future is entirely uncertain until he meets Ria, a 43-year-old woman, who has struggled to find love all her life. It’s a stunningly evocative and moving read which can’t fail to grip the reader.” Clare Smith, Publishing Director, HarperPress
The reason we wanted to submit Missing You for the Brit Writers’ Awards is because we feel it’s the perfect example of a beautifully written, warm, and moving novel which literally crackles with unspoken passion and engages the reader totally in the lives and emotions of the characters.” Trish Jackson, Louise Douglas’s editor
The Adversary (Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse Saga: Book One) by James R. Bowman (Melrose Books)
Dry Season by Dan Smith (Orion Fiction)
Support for The Adversary
“As an editor, I’m always on the lookout for the very best in storytelling. One of the things that excites me most about this is the fact you never know where it’s going to come from – amazing novels come from young and old, established authors and debut writers. The people you least expect can have incredible tales to tell or write in a voice that’s completely original.
“When it came to putting a book forward for the Brit Writers’ Awards Published Writer of the Year 2010, selecting James R. Bowman’s The Adversary was a relatively straightforward choice to make. From the beginning of the process, the quality and depth of the material (from a debut author with so much passion for the story he wants to tell) stood out in terms of its compelling narrative and the vivid universe that unfolds before the reader. It’s an outstanding, creative and dramatic start to his Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse saga. The final product announces James’s arrival on the scene with a beautifully crafted book, with fantasy artist Peter Pracownik painting the cover. James deserved our nomination, for all of these reasons, and we couldn’t be happier that he’s been shortlisted. Thanks to BWA for their commitment to new writers, and congratulations to all of the nominees.” Matt Stephens, Production & Editorial Manager, Melrose Books
Support for Dry Season
When we first read Dry Season by Dan Smith we knew we had something special. While it takes you into the dark heart of South America and is suffused with the atmosphere of a unique place and time, the story it tells there is a universal one. The novel is blood-soaked and passionate – but the true drama playing out is the age-old battle between good and evil. It’s about the choices we make and how we live with them. For me, the special thing about publishing is that it’s about communication – not just writing for expression, but connecting with readers. The Brit Writers initiative and awards are about making more connections, finding new voices and getting those stories into the hands of readers. As a publisher, Orion is delighted to be part of that process.” Genevieve Pegg, Senior Commissioning Editor, Orion Fiction
Published Writer of the Year Award continued...
Witchfinder: Dawn of the Demontide by William Hussey (Oxford Children’s Books)
Mr Toppit by Charles Elton (Penguin Books)
Nation by Terry Pratchett (Random House Children’s Books)
Statement from Penguin Books Support for Witchfinder: Dawn of the Demontide “I think the Brit Writers’ Awards is a brilliant way to introduce new writers to a wider readership, and so what an honour it is for Witchfinder: Dawn of the Demontide to be chosen as one of the ten shortlisted titles! William Hussey is an exciting talent, his writing enjoyed by teenagers and adults alike. I get countless submissions across my desk, and emails are always beckoning, but from the first page of Witchfinder I was hooked. I knew that Oxford University Press had to be the publisher to bring this book to the world. With its mix of magic and science and horror and beautiful, lyrical writing, it is quite unlike anything I’ve ever read - I envy you your first foray into the world of Witchfinder.” Jasmine Richards, Senior Commissioning Editor, Oxford University Press
“Penguin is thrilled to be involved with the Brit Writers’ Awards. It’s a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the UK’s best undiscovered novelists, poets and songwriters, and we hope that it will inspire more and more people to pick up the pen and express themselves. After all, if there’s a book you really want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” Tony Lacey, Editorial Director, Penguin Books
Support for Nation “Nation is a brilliantly wise and witty novel about two children coming of age on a desert island. It is a comic satire that challenges the way we think about cultural identity, nationhood and the history of the empire. Random House Children’s Books is always looking for new talent, it is the lifeblood of the publishing industry. New writers are our future Terry Pratchetts, Jacqueline Wilsons and Philip Pullmans. Publishing is all about finding stories that ignite the imagination and about looking for amazing voices who can tell a story in a fresh and exciting way. We are delighted to support any initiative that encourages new writers.” Philippa Dickinson, Managing Director, Random House Children’s Books
The Crimson Rooms by Katharine McMahon (Weidenfeld and Nicholson) Support for The Crimson Rooms “One of the pleasures of reading is that a novel can transport us to another time and place. Katharine McMahon’s The Crimson Rooms brings alive the city of London in the aftermath of the First World War, when the aftershocks of the conflict were still being felt – in particular by the generations of women who suddenly found themselves without fathers, brothers, husbands and lovers. Yet this was also a time of great opportunity for women as they began to challenge tradition. The protagonist of The Crimson Rooms, Evelyn Gifford, breaks free from her stifling family to become one of the country’s first female solicitors. One of the great strengths of this novel is that it marries powerful storytelling with fascinating historical detail but never at the expense of pace or character. The history informs, but does not intrude. Part of the art of writing a good novel is to maintain this balance and to make sure that the reader never loses sight of the characters’ central journey. It is always wonderful to see initiatives that help encourage the emergence of new writing in Britain, especially when there is so much competition from other media.”
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Kirsty Dunseath, Publishing Director (Fiction), Weidenfeld & Nicolson
well done
A big thank you to all of our wonderful judges across the UK, who consisted not only of high-profile authors and literary insiders, but members of writing groups and book clubs, music industry experts, teachers, lecturers and other professionals. We valued everything you did for us – thank you! And thank you and well done not only to our finalists and winners, but to everyone who sent in their stories, poems, songs, books and articles to make the first ever Brit Writers’ Awards Unpublished the overwhelming success it has undoubtedly been. We are now welcoming submissions for 2011. Visit www.britwriters.co.uk for more information.
See you next year!
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Communities and Local Government “At Communities and Local Government (CLG), our aim is to create a free, fair and responsible society where individuals share a common set of values and have a sense of purpose. In order to achieve this we need to build strong and positive relationships between people of different backgrounds, a sense of belonging and a shared vision for the future. Regular contact between people of different backgrounds can help to reduce prejudice and promote shared values and trust. This will help to reduce tensions between groups and help communities come together to deal with challenging social and economic changes and to build a big and vibrant British society.
CLG recognises the role that creativity, culture and the arts can play in fostering social cohesion
CLG also recognises the role that creativity, culture and the arts can play in fostering social cohesion and promoting understanding and awareness between different cultures and communities. Creative activities like writing provide a mechanism for people to express themselves and their values. It offers a way of reaching out to other people, raising their awareness and encouraging discussion and debate. We are supporting those who are working to build bridges between communities and break down negative misconceptions and stereotypes. In particular, we look to support those who recognise and celebrate the contributions of all communities to wider society. That is why we are pleased to be supporting the Brit Writers’ Awards, which encourages people to express themselves and recognises the creative output of diverse communities in the country. The Brit Writers’ Awards is a great example of communities coming together to nurture talent, celebrate success and develop role models. The highly talented individuals whom we are celebrating tonight have an important part to play in contributing to our vision of cohesive, thriving communities. They are role models and ambassadors who can inspire others to follow in their paths.” Best of luck to all the nominees of each award category.
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The Other Design Agency is proud to be working with the Brit Writers’ Awards. We are a multi-disciplinary creative design agency and pride ourselves on delivering equitable value to our clients.
www.theotherdesignagency.co.uk
OTHER D E S I G N
A G E N C Y
Harj D Harj D, also known as XS-BASS, is our sound engineer for the evening; he was also one of our judges in the songwriting categories. Known by music lovers across Europe, Harj D pioneered the hugely successful ZEE Roadshow – a university tour of around 13 UK Asian mainstream artists, which was aired on the ZEE Network on Sky Channel 789. Aside from judging and hosting events, Harj D is known for studio work, recently working with the US chart-topping star Jay Sean (producing his official R&B remix of ‘Tonight’) and the international superstar Panjabi MC. Harj D, as XS-BASS, released his album Amplified through Nachural Records in 2008, which featured strong hip-hop tracks in collaboration with the Seattle-based rapper P-LIM.
For more information about Harj D, visit www.xs-bass.co.uk.
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g n u o Y
s r e t i r W Young Writers is the children’s publishing imprint of Forward Press Ltd. Founded in
1991, Young Writers has been publishing poetry and creative writing by school children for almost 20 years and we wholly believe in the nurturing of creative talent.
Working closely with schools, parents and pupils we provide the opportunity, the educational support and the inspirational ideas to help motivate children and encourage their creativity whatever their academic ability or background. Developing creative writing potential in all children and providing positive association with writing, we believe, is key to ensuring a strong relationship of enjoyment with reading and creative writing for life. Every year we run poetry and creative writing competitions through schools, which results in a collection of regional anthologies, showcasing both the pupils’ and schools’ talent. A copy of every book we publish is kept at the British Library, where nearly 20 years’ of Young Writers’ books are in the National Archives! We award more than £15,000 each year to schools and pupils who enter our competitions. In June we awarded the prizes for last year’s poetry competition for secondary schools: ‘I Have a Dream’. Colyton Grammar School in Devon won first prize of £1,000, with a further £2,250 awarded to 15 other schools who participated in the series. The best poet in each regional edition won a Staedtler writing set.
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We also provide a further literary platform for children with two quarterly magazines, Scribbler! (for seven- to 11-year-olds) and Wordsmith (for 12- to 18-year-olds). The magazines offer the chance for children to have their poems, stories, mini sagas, art and book reviews published. Literary articles and features are also included each issue, such as a workshop, a guest author interview, news from the writing world and competitions. We support the work of the Brit Writers’ Awards. The team’s enthusiasm, dedication and commitment to providing opportunities for writers and poets to make their mark in a notoriously difficult market is a welcome change and one we’re proud to be part of.
Creating a classic Much-loved children’s author Julia Donaldson, creator of award-winning modern classic The Gruffalo, talks to the Brit Writers’ Awards about busking, working in the bath and what first inspired her to put pen to paper. Julia Donaldson knows a thing or two about the power of words. Her suspenseful stories and riotous rhymes have enchanted everyone from toddlers to teens and adults too. The prolific writer has produced dozens of books, including poetry, plays and novels. But she’s probably best known for catchy rhyming bedtime story The Gruffalo. Published in more than 30 languages and still the UK’s best-selling picture book, The Gruffalo, like many of her stories, is often used by schools as a learning tool, encouraging young children to read and even come up with their own rhymes. Coming from a musical family, there’s no doubt Donaldson’s modest beginnings as a busker – which led to writing songs for children’s TV programmes such as Playschool – helped kick-start her literary career. In fact, one of her ditties, ‘A Squash and a Squeeze’, has been made into a popular book. “Everyone’s got their own way into writing,” she says, “and it’s interesting that when you talk to published writers, it’s often been through a kind a side-step into it. For me, it was writing songs.” Her love of verse was enthused from an early age after receiving a poetry anthology from her father. “As a child, I was quite exposed to poetry and songs. My father gave me that book when I was five and I used to learn all the poems by heart and go off and recite them. That’s probably what started me loving poetry,” she recalls. Poetry is a big part of the imaginative author’s work, but inspiration doesn’t always come easy – although when it does, it takes a lot to prise her away from her wacky world of snails and whales and duckbill dinosaurs. “I don’t have a writing routine; I have routines to stop me writing! But you can only do so much sitting at a desk. To get the ideas flowing, I either do some physical activity like a long walk or something quite selfindulgent like have a bath. I do a lot of thinking in the bath,” she muses. Donaldson’s work has influenced children all over the world to get into reading. Which authors compel her to pick up a book? “My favourite genre is modern realistic fiction. For an easy read, I actually love Ruth Rendell and David Lodge, who write about the world as it is, but usually with an interesting angle,” she says. “And I love the classics – when I was pregnant, my husband and I read the whole of Jane Austen’s novels aloud to each other. You’re never too old to have a book read to you.”
The Gruffalo has quickly become a classic itself, although Donaldson is wary of how the character’s mass-appeal might overshadow her other achievements. Like Mary Shelley with her Frankenstein, she has created a monster – in all senses of the word. “It might be my classic piece of work, but sometimes I want to wring the Gruffalo’s neck!” she laughs. “At the moment, I’m most proud of my teenage novel, Running on the Cracks, because that was a challenge for me – a departure and something so different to what I’ve done before.” The burning question for any budding scribe: what’s the secret to a bestselling author’s success? A cracking good story, of course. “People talk about style and character, but forget how important a good plot is. Take Jane Austen, people always praise her for the minutiae of her canvas, her characters and her dry style. But if you examine her books, Pride and Prejudice, for example, has got a cracking good plot, but because it’s really well written you’re not aware of that – the plot doesn’t ‘creak’. “What new writers need to remember is that the things which read as effortless might have had a lot of effort put into them. That’s certainly true of verse: if it trips off the tongue, it’s probably been sweated over.”
Julia’s top five tips for yet-to-be-published writers: 1. If you’ve got talent and perseverance, then the luck should come... I also think you need an awareness of what makes a good plot. 2. The thing with writer’s block is not to get too panicky. Thinking about it probably makes it worse, so I would just do something completely different. 3. Join a writers’ group, which might also help with writer’s block, because sometimes you’re set exercises to do and also you can help inspire each other. 4. Get the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook or the Children’s Writers and Artists’ Yearbook - they’re full of really good advice and they break things into categories, like ‘magazines’, ‘books’ and ‘age groups’. 5. Read widely and browse the bookshops. Everyone’s looking for an original voice, but some people write in a terribly old-fashioned way: they don’t seem to have a clue about what’s been written in the last 10, 20, 30 years.
To find out more about Julia Donaldson and her work, visit www.juliadonaldson.co.uk Words by Kelly Smith.
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Feargal Sharkey CEO, UK Music Born in Derry, Northern Ireland, Feargal Sharkey found fame as lead singer in The Undertones and later as a solo artist – enjoying some 12 years of world tours, hit albums, late nights and the finest transport-café cuisine money can buy. Hanging up his popstar boots, he successfully transferred to the business side of the industry, holding posts as an A&R manager, record label MD, member of the Radio Authority and Chair of the Live Music Forum.
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In February 2008, Feargal was appointed CEO of British Music Rights. Eight months later, this role was expanded significantly with the creation of UK Music. Headed by Feargal, UK Music is an umbrella organisation that represents the collective interests of the UK’s commercial music industry - from artists, musicians, songwriters and composers to record labels, music managers, music publishers, collecting societies and studio producers.
Feargal and UK Music are pleased to support the Brit Writers’ Awards Unpublished 2010.
s s e c c u s e Due to th l a r u g u a n of the i s d r a Aw ’ s Brit Writer hted to g i l e d e r a we a i d n I e h t t a tell you th s i s d r a Aw ’ Writers n i i h l e D o coming t . 1 1 0 2 r e b Septem
Watch this space...
We wanted to put our authors at the heart of the publishing process.
Richard Burton, co-founder and Joint Managing Director of Infinite Ideas, talks to
Andrew Varney about his company and why he’s so passionate about the Brit Writers’ Awards.
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Tell us a little about Infinite Ideas, how it started, what it stands for. Infinite Ideas was founded about eight years ago with two main aims. Firstly we wanted our books to make a real difference to their readers’ lives. So we have always published books that at least try to help rather than just promoting the author’s ideas. Our books are authoritative but that authority is delivered in an accessible, friendly and, we hope, inspiring manner. We’ve had a few turkeys, like all publishers, but we feel that most of our mistakes have been a result of trying to be a bit different. Secondly we wanted to put our authors at the heart of the publishing process.
How does that work? Don’t all publishers value their authors? Well, no, they don’t. The book publishing industry has marginalised authors to the point where they’re treated as little more than suppliers and new authors face a particularly difficult uphill struggle to be heard. We’re continually being contacted by authors who have become utterly frustrated by the way they’re treated by publishers. New writers are either completely ignored or if they’re lucky enough to have a publishing contract then they’re treated as irritants. Infinite Ideas has tried to engage properly with authors and treat them as the creative individuals they are. Some of them are nuts though.
But publishers have to accept the commercial realities don’t they? A lot of unpublished books are unpublished for a reason surely? Of course. But the fact that they are without commercial value shouldn’t mean that they can’t be published. One of the real issues here is the rapidly growing self-publishing industry. Selfpublishing can be a fantastic solution for new writers but there are so many unscrupulous operators making ludicrous claims about their ability to sell and distribute books that the sector is in danger of getting a bad name. Infinite Ideas plans to launch a transparent self-publishing offer soon and we would encourage any writer who’s thinking of self-publishing to choose a supplier that 1. knows about publishing and 2. operates with complete integrity and transparency. Check the blogs. They’re full of miserable stories from people who’ve been ripped off. That has to stop. This part of the business needs to be cleaned up and as responsible publishers we’re committed to playing our part in that.
Why do you think that authors have become so marginalised? What’s changed in the business? It’s partly retailer-driven. Bookshops generally get behind the big names, the tried and the trusted. There are plenty of independents supporting new ideas and local authors but they just don’t have the commercial muscle of the chains. That’s why you see novels by Jordan or Alan Titchmarsh piled high at the front of the shops. Nobody involved really believes these are great books.
Authors are brands and new brands are difficult to create so the industry encourages books by brands that already exist outside the literary world. And of course the supermarkets are now major players, and they sell just the top 50 sellers. There was a report a couple of years ago which revealed that of the 200,000 new titles published in the UK alone only five per cent sold more than 3,500 copies. And I don’t want to be too depressing but it gets worse! Sixty thousand new books published in the UK each year sell an average of 18 copies. So, while a few authors are very well-treated by publishers, the vast majority are simply of no interest to them. It is a tough market and all publishers, including Infinite Ideas, try to de-risk their activities as much as possible. But it means that new writing talent finds it almost impossible to break through.
So, where does the Brit Writers’ Awards fit in this grim scenario? BWA has become a massive force for creative good in a tiny amount of time. People want to express themselves, tell their stories, give their imaginations a voice. BWA strips out all those parts of the closed shop of publishing that prevent writers from being heard. It is democratising the process and offers everyone a fighting chance to be published and be noticed.
But there are plenty of other literary prizes. What makes Brit Writers so different? Two things. Firstly this is by far the biggest prize for unpublished authors. It’s a phenomenon. Over 21,000 people entered work in its first year. It encourages writers of all ages and backgrounds, promotes creativity and self-expression and gives new writers a voice. It is very active in schools and I believe BWA has done more in the space of a year to encourage a new generation of confident creative writers than the entire British publishing industry. Secondly the judging process is democratic. It’s undertaken by ordinary people who just love books, not by the usual London literary elite. Along the way I think it has created a real community of creative talents and a tremendous sense of communal purpose in its attempt to cut through some of the self-serving mystique publishers hide behind. I suppose I might be in danger of idealising all this but we believe that BWA is a very important initiative.
So how did Infinite Ideas get involved? We were introduced to Imran [CEO of Brit Writers] and Zareen [Head of Operations] by a friend of the business. Frankly, we didn’t know much about Brit Writers at all but we were immediately inspired by their vision and their refusal to accept what have become publishing rules. BWA’s goals complement Infinite Ideas’ desire to promote authors and rip up the publishing rule book. A bit of iconoclasm in this industry is long overdue and we’re very proud to be one of BWA’s partners. And we can’t wait to get one of the winners onto the shelves.
For more information about Infinite Ideas visit www.infideas.co.uk.
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Interview with Jane Gregory Co-founder of the Orange Prize for Fiction
Jane Gregory is the owner of top literary agency Gregory & Company and one of the original founders of the Orange Prize for Fiction, which celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in women’s writing from all over the world. Here Jane tells us about the origins of the Orange Prize – and why she supports the Brit Writers’ Awards.
What attracted you to the publishing industry? A lifelong love of books. I wanted to be the person who found and nurtured the next bestselling, critically acclaimed new author, but the only job I could get in publishing was in rights. So I learnt how to draw up contracts and how to sell rights – which, in fact, suits my talents much more than spending hours reading, re-reading and giving authors editorial advice.
What inspired you to start the Orange Prize and how was it born? The Booker Prize (as it was then called) seemed to be ignoring books by women. They were not valued; books by women did not get the advances that male writers received; women did not get the review space either. A very large number of women – editors, agents, journalists and booksellers – gathered together to talk about what we could do about this. We decided that a literary prize with a large amount of prize money would change attitudes. It was agreed that we would meet again to take these plans further. At the next meeting the large group was whittled down to six women and we formed ourselves into The Women’s Prize Committee. Kate Mosse [bestselling author of Labyrinth] and I are the only two who have remained from this first group. Others joined us and replaced the original committee members. We asked high-powered women in politics, publishing, newspapers and TV to be patrons, Book Trust offered to help us and we approached companies with our brilliant idea. We had a false start and the ensuing publicity brought us support from the anonymous donor, who set up a trust fund for the £30,000 prize money, and Grizel Niven who created the statuette ‘the Bessie’ especially for us. The committee members were running round looking for a sponsor and then we found Orange. Orange was then a small, new company looking for a way to make its mark and its dedication over the last 15 years has helped make the Orange Prize the influential prize it is today.
“I wanted to be the person who found and nurtured the next bestselling, critically acclaimed new author”
As an agent, what are the key qualities you look for when choosing a book? First and foremost, writing style. We can help with plots and characterisation.
How important is it to encourage new writers through initiatives such as the Brit Writers’ Awards Unpublished? We are always looking for fresh new voices and if this award not only encourages people to focus on writing, but also on reading, then I think it is a good initiative
What message would you like to give to all our entrants and finalists? It is a great achievement to have made the effort to enter the competition. To be chosen as a finalist from amongst so many is brilliant and I hope your efforts bring you great joy and are an inspiration to others.
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Creativity and innovation:
Aston University leads the way! Aston University in Birmingham is thrilled to be partnering with Brit Writers, to champion its national Creative Writing Programme for Universities. This pioneering initiative will promote creative writing to students and the university’s wider staff community through a series of seminars and writing groups.
The model will then be used to encourage other universities to replicate and follow Aston University’s lead. The project will launch in October 2010 with a series of evening seminars centred around creative writing and the publishing world. Two new writing groups will be set up: one for students from various disciplines and one for staff, specifically focusing on utility, catering and cleaning staff. “I am absolutely delighted to be working with Aston University to lead the way on this national project,” said Imran Akram, CEO of Brit Writers. “Our entries for 2010 reflected a very good representation of school-aged children due to our schools programmes, but the 18-25 age group needs a specific focus as it is critical for these young people to not only enter working life with good academic qualifications but also a flair for writing.” “I am extremely impressed with the way in which Aston University has wholeheartedly embraced the concept and expanded the idea of writing groups to include their utility staff. “My hope is that other universities will replicate this innovative model and join our campaign to develop a nation of creative and skilled writers.”
To find out more about the Creative Writing Programme for Universities, contact the Brit Writers team on 0871 237 4442 or email enquiries@britwriters.co.uk.
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Sponsor of the non-fiction category: Training Connect “Training Connect is delighted to sponsor the non-fiction category in the 2010 Brit Writers’ Awards. Our core business is teaching ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) to people from other countries and cultures who are hoping to settle in the UK. So the precise and expressive use of English is a topic close to our hearts. Awards events like this celebrate excellence – another subject close to our hearts. Without going into too much detail, people who want to learn English from scratch have not been brilliantly served in the recent past. State-funded provision has been hugely overstretched – and private providers have tended to be unaccredited opportunists chasing a quick buck at their students’ expense. Training Connect set out to do things differently – to establish a benchmark for excellence in the ESOL sector. From day one, we worked closely with the Home Office and immigration services to make sure we achieved the highest possible standards in our sector. We are interested in people, not just profits, and we are genuinely committed to helping our students play a greater part in the cultural, social and economic life of the UK. We are proud to have helped more than 20,000 students pass the UK government’s ESOL with Citizenship test since it was launched in April 2007 – introducing many new speakers to delights of the English language.
We don’t tell our students this when they start – we wouldn’t want them to feel daunted by the challenge – but the English language contains more words than any other tongue. Its twin heritage in Germanic and Latin languages, enriched by centuries of seafaring assimilation, has given English-language speakers an immensely flexible and expressive tool with which to work. Tonight’s awards honour some of those who have put this tool to good use, conveying new thoughts, observations and sentiments. As sponsors of the non-fiction category, we are concerned in particular with writing that tells things as they really are. Writing non-fiction is not as easy as it sounds. Bringing facts to life and steering free of inadvertent fiction is as intellectually demanding as any feat of creative imagination. Saying something true is almost harder in a literal than a metaphorical mode. So, non-fiction writers, we salute you! Congratulations to all the winners tonight – and to everyone who has had the initiative to put pen to paper – or fingers on keys, as the case may be. Communicating with the rest of the world in any form that allows others to share and learn from your experiences is one of the greatest things any of us can do. Writing is a journey of discovery for readers and writers alike, and ultimately it is that journey itself - not its destination – that brings the greatest reward.”
Pawan Srivastava, Managing Director, Training Connect Limited
Training Connect Ltd, Vista Business Centre, 50 Salisbury Road, Hounslow, TW4 6JQ. Telephone: 020 8538 0248.
nitenite™ is the official hotel sponsor of the Brit Writers’ Awards Unpublished 2010.
Chic but comfort-conscious interiors, avant-garde design, great city centre locations, welcoming and friendly staff – an altogether perfect little package at an altogether perfect little price!
08458 90 90 99 • book@nitenite.com • www.nitenite.com nitenite™ Birmingham 18 Holliday Street Birmingham B1 1TB
Motivation Marketing is committed to supporting community-based projects such as Brit Writers as part of its corporate social responsibility.
Motivation Marketing is delighted to be part of this exciting initiative. Encouraging and honing in on creativity in the area of writing was long overdue. We believe the Brit Writers’ Awards is going to be one of the best platforms to launch many successful careers in creative writing and we wish them and all the participants all the very best.
Motivation Marketing excels at delivering a wide range of marketing support services for both B2B and B2C sectors. Some of our services are:
• • • • • •
Contact centre services Direct mailing Data management and data capture Direct marketing Research and survey Data bureau services.
Working on a retainer or project basis, Motivation knows about working to strict budgets and tight deadlines. It also understands the need for flexibility. As a result it has formed excellent working relationships with its clients – often becoming an integral part of their sales and marketing infrastructure. Our client list includes organisations such as P&G, Pringle, Ralph Lauren, Shell, Cartier and Mercedes-Benz. We hope you have a great time at the Brit Writers’ Awards Unpublished 2010 ceremony tonight and should you wish to talk to us you will find us on our corporate table. Graeme Harrowell, Director, Motivation Marketing
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five ways to write a better story
Judges’ feedback:
There were hundreds of brilliant entries in the first ever Brit Writers’ Awards Unpublished. If you’re disappointed that your fiction entry didn’t get shortlisted, take heart. Our judges have kindly provided feedback on some of the most common mistakes made in the short story and novel categories, to help inexperienced writers improve next time. Here are five comments made by our judges, and suggestions for taking them on board for your entry into the Brit Writers’ Awards Unpublished 2011...
01. “Many of the stories began with long introductions, scene setting or generalised philosophising, rather than hitting the ground running.” Crash! Bang! Wallop! That got your attention, didn’t it? The message is: always put the exciting stuff first. It doesn’t matter if there’s a magic dancing pygmy goat on Page 2 of your story if Page 1 is all about what you ate for breakfast last Tuesday. No one will ever find out about the magic goat because all your readers will have died of boredom before then. Look for where your story gets exciting. It could be a big event, the first time we meet the main character, or a captivating and intriguing scene. Start there.
02. “Sloppy grammar or spelling distracted from gems that hid in some of the stories.” Yoda say: “Grammar important be. Understand grammar must you”. One way of untangling messy writing is to read your story aloud. If you sound a little like Yoda, ask yourself how you can make your prose easier to understand. Clear writing needs active sentences, strong verbs, and not too many adjectives. Make sure you understand the rules of grammar, spelling and punctuation. Try some online resources as a starting point (BBC Skillswise is useful). Tip: Don’t rely on your computer to save you. Some common mistakes, such as confusing ‘their’ with ‘there’ or ‘they’re’, don’t get picked up by spellcheckers.
03. “Too many novice writers were ‘telling’ not ‘showing’.”
05. “Some short stories crammed in too many themes or points.”
Question: what makes a story dramatic and engaging? Answer: when it shows what’s happening, rather than tells.
What you need is a big KISS. As in: Keep It Simple, Sweetie!
‘Telling’ is vague and general. He loved her. OK, so you’ve told us information, but you haven’t given us any reason to care. On the other hand, ‘showing’ uses detail. He kept a picture of her in his wallet. Every morning, when he paid for his newspaper, he would show the picture to the shopkeeper. “That’s my girl,” he would say. When you show the action, the reader can’t help but get involved. You don’t know this guy but you’re getting an idea about him already. How old do you think he is? Who is the girl in the picture? What does the shopkeeper make of all this? Now your story is alive with possibility – what’s going to happen next?
Having loads of ideas is never a bad thing. But a problem can occur when you try to put all your ideas into one story. The plot twists and turns, and everything happens so fast that the reader can’t keep up. After a couple of pages, the reader is too confused to carry on. Read your manuscript and identify the biggest, most important thing that happens. Once you’ve decided, make it your focus. Be ruthless with the other stuff. The simpler your story, the more powerful it will be.
04. “There were too many point of view changes.” Remember: readers are always looking for a connection with a character. They want to see the world through the character’s eyes; know what she knows, feel what she feels. Bouncing around from character to character will end up bouncing your reader right out of the story. If you’re writing in first person, you can only describe the world from that character’s point of view (POV). Likewise, if you’re writing in third person, you should stick with the same viewpoint throughout (especially when you’re new to writing). Resist the temptation to jump into another character’s POV every time you get stuck. Tip: If you must change the POV character, don’t do it in the middle of a sentence or paragraph. That’s called ‘headhopping’. It makes the reader dizzy – and not in a good way.
We are now accepting submissions for 2011: www.britwriters.co.uk
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Sponsor a school Be part of our campaign to make writing cool by exclusively sponsoring your local schools! Our creative writing programme in schools focuses in particular on pupils and parents. Across the UK, individuals, organisations and businesses are sponsoring their local schools to get involved and create a buzz about writing in their communities. We engaged with over 350,000 schoolchildren for the first ever Brit Writers’ Awards and plan to take this figure to 1.5 million next year. When you sponsor a local school to benefit from our creative writing programme they will receive:
• • • • • • • •
A range of creative writing lesson plans for Key Stages 1-4 A set of ‘how to’ articles on writing tips for children and adults A series of inspirational features from well-known writers Support in the delivery of special creative writing projects in their school Two visits by a writer who will run a creative writing workshop involving pupils and parents Special Brit Writers certificates and the opportunity for you to attend their recognition events Free entry to the Brit Writers’ Awards Unpublished 2011 for all their pupils, parents and teachers A £5,000 prize if a member of their school wins at the national awards.
Sponsor one or more of your local schools and benefit from recognition throughout the year! Annual sponsorship fees are only £100 (plus VAT) per school. If your company sponsors a school you will: • • • •
Be listed as a Schools Sponsor on the Brit Writers website Have the opportunity to attend recognition events at the schools, and present awards Get local press and media opportunities Receive a certificate bearing your company name, to be displayed in the school.
To sponsor a school today, simply email your details to schools@britwriters.co.uk stating the number of schools you wish to sponsor or call 0871 237 4442 for more details.
www.britwriters.co.uk
What some schools are saying: “Our kids are really excited about the competition...we've even got a couple of entries from parents!” “We have done a 'Brit Writers' week... we have done lots of drama, role play, and storytelling to fuel the children's ideas... we are going to do another one.”
Practical advice in a creative world Our Authors and Journalists Group is dedicated to writers. We have a complete understanding of the relevant tax regulations and many years’ experience in helping clients minimise their tax liability. Do you have a tax query? For a free copy of our tax guide for authors and journalists, please email info@hwfisher.co.uk and quote BWA in the subject line.
Alternatively, call our free tax help line on: +44 (0)20 7874 7876 or email your query quoting BWA in the subject line to Andrew Subramaniam: asubs@hwfisher.co.uk www.hwfisher.co.uk
BWA ad.indd 1
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Supporting the Brit Writers' Awards Unpublished 2010. www.dawnprinters.co.uk
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info@dawnprinters.co.uk
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0121 440 1948
Your Book
Your Way! Struggling to get your book published via the conventional route? The Brit Writers’ Awards Unpublished is working with publishers, agents and editors to support aspiring writers in getting their work ‘out there’.
SUPPORT INCLUDES:
• • • • •
Critiquing services Editorial support and proofreading Jacket design Production and marketing Referral service to agents and publishers.
This is all happening through a new Brit Writers division called Your Book Your Way, which will be launched soon.
Keep an eye on www.britwriters.co.uk for more news on this exciting resource. You can also get in touch at enquiries@britwriters.co.uk.