There was a buzz of excitement in the air as a group of us gathered in the Betsey Trotwood on the 14th May. At last it was time to reveal the winners for our Emerging Writer Award and to celebrate our Project Award winners too. Drum roll please…
For the Emerging Writer Award, sponsored by Quietroom, a special mention went to Jo Ilford, Alex Fenton was highly commended, and Poppy Collier was named our overall winner.
Overall winner, Poppy Collier
Highly commended Alex Fenton with his certificate
Special mention Jo Ilford, with Quietroom’s Andy Hayes
Although we’d previously announced our Project winners, the evening was also a chance to celebrate this award, and we were lucky enough to be joined by a couple of the writers involved. To recap, special mentions went to Hester Thomas and Helen Jones, Rowena Roberts and Gillian Colhoun were highly commended, and the overall winner was Miranda Dickinson.
Overall winner Miranda Dickinson with 26’s chairman Martin Clarkson
Special mention Hester Thomas with her certificate
The awards and certificates were all beautifully crafted by the brilliant Phil Cleaver, who painstakingly searches for original lead type for his letterpress creations. Every winner received a unique print, with the two overall winners also going home with the original chase used to print their certificates. Keep your eyes peeled for an in-depth feature with Phil soon, and in the meantime, just look at this beauty.
– Sophie Gordon