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A CLOSER LOOK AT THE ISLE OF WIGHT BOOK AWARDS

By James Rayner

The Isle of Wight has long been known as a literary location, with authors from Keats and Dickens to Turgenev and Hardy all crossing the Solent to find some creative inspiration here. Furthermore, Carisbrooke Castle famously featured in the 19th-century novel Moonfleet and Tennyson supposedly wrote the poem Crossing the Bar on a sailing to Freshwater. So, with all these book-based connections, it’s not surprising that the Island also has a successful literary festival (running since 2012) and, as of last October, a local book awards too. The idea of author, journalist, and broadcaster Hunter Davies (who recently swapped North London for Ryde), the first-ever Isle of Wight Book Awards proved to be a great success with 71 books entered for judging. Supported by Medina Books of Cowes, the competition saw the entries (each with an Isle of Wight connection) put in front of a judging panel that included Hunter Davies, Alan Titchmarsh, and Joanna Trollope, before winners in each category (non-fiction, fiction, and children’s) were announced at a Grand Literary Lunch at the Island Sailing Club. The awards aimed to promote the writing, reading, and publishing of books about the Isle of Wight, with self-published titles especially encouraged. For this inaugural year, books printed in the past five years were accepted for judging and the panel was suitably surprised at the impressive number of entries. Judge Alan Titchmarsh explained: “It’s great to have the Isle of Wight Book Awards and hopefully it’ll carry on year after year. We’ve had some amazing authors here who are thrilled to bits to be recognised.” Keen to find out more, we’ve taken a closer look at the winners’ books and spoken to Meg L. Hewison, author and illustrator of the winning children’s entry ‘My Friends By The Beach’.

Published in 2017, An Island Legacy provides a record of the Island’s towns, villages, land, and seascapes across two hundred years of history. Over the last five decades, author Ken (who is also president of the Isle of Wight branch of the Historical Association) has collected over 120 original engravings of the Island by 19th-century topographical draughtsman George Brannon and his sons Alfred and Philip. Reprinting these engravings in An Island Legacy, alongside modern photographs of the same scenes today, Ken’s book provides a unique insight into the Island’s evolution over time. One thousand copies were printed but with orders coming in from as far away as Australia, New Zealand, India, and Sweden, the book sold out within 18 months. Winning both the best non-fiction category and the title of overall winner at the 2022 Isle of Wight Book Awards, Ken received a £500 prize which he donated to the Mountbatten Hospice. Marion Carmichael’s 2019 collection of poetry — Grass Green Stockings — took the title in this year’s fiction category. A former teacher, Marion has written for many years, both alone and in writing groups, with a number of her poems and stories making their way into magazines and publications. The Ventnor-based writer also appeared at the 2022 Isle of Wight Literary Festival event ‘Four Poets and a Harpist’ (reciting some of her latest verses) and continues to work on a novel about her grandmother’s life. Since winning at the Isle of Wight Book Awards, Grass Green Stockings has been reprinted and is available from local retailers including Isle of Wight Traders in Newport.

Best Non-Fiction and Overall Winner:

An Island Legacy: The Isle of Wight Through the Eyes of the Brannon Family 1817 - 2017 - Kenneth Hicks MBE Best Fiction

Grass Green Stockings - Marion Carmichael

Best Children’s Book

My Friends By The Beach - Meg L. Hewison

21-year-old Meg L. Hewison from Ryde won over the judges with her nature-themed children’s book My Friends By The Beach. Filled with Meg’s own illustrations, it offers young readers an engaging guide to the furry, flippered, and feathered inhabitants of the UK’s coastline; packed with fun facts and tips on how to spot them. The second book in her “My Friends” series, Meg has also created a range of animé-style comics and is training to be a tattooist. Intrigued, we interviewed Meg to learn more about her.

KIDS, COMICS & COASTAL ANIMALS

- An Interview with Meg L. Hewison

For those of us who don’t know yet, can you tell us a bit more about your winning children’s book: My Friends By The Beach?

Targeted at children aged six years and up, it focuses on learning about the common and less common seaside animals you can find across the UK and how to respect them. It also has a handy spotting guide for the readers to mark off which they’ve seen. I wrote and illustrated the whole book myself over about four months.

What inspired you to start writing your ‘My Friends’ series of books?

I started writing properly when I was about 14; I’ve always been making up stories though! My inspiration to write is just a love for sharing stories and sharing knowledge about our world, different species, and their battle for survival. It’s important to share them because often people don’t know how vulnerable our wildlife is. I feel like now more than ever, this is the most important thing to foster in young people.

How does the Isle of Wight feature in your book?

I love the nature here and the scenery on the Island inspired me to illustrate some of the animals around me, which then made their way into the book. There are also a few pages for the Sea Eagles we’re lucky enough to share our home with. I adore our natural areas and the animals in them, so naturally, that love has to be shared!

How was the awards ceremony? What was your favourite part?

I feel like I should say my favourite part was winning, but that’s a bit cliché! The atmosphere and being there was just incredible, I almost can’t choose! Meeting Alan Titchmarsh was amazing though, he has such a love for this island and was so kind!

Did you expect to win and how did you feel when you did?

Honestly, no! I totally didn’t expect to win, I was amazed I even made the shortlist! When Alan called my name I just couldn’t believe it, I was just so shocked the excitement only kicked in when I gave my speech. The certificate has pride of place next to my degree now.

So what’s next? Have you made any plans for the future?

I love comics and recently published my debut comic, ‘Dancing With Lights’, which is available from Medina Books and Heroes Comics in Scarrots Lane. I’m working on another comic called ‘Twin Embers’ while I work on some more kid’s books too! I want to keep working on what I love and sharing it with people of all ages. My comic work is for older audiences, but being able to share my love of nature with young people is so rewarding. There are definitely more ‘My Friends’ books in the future!