Winners 2011

Peter Bennet

Peter Bennet’s most recent book is Border, published by Bloodaxe Books in 2013. Two of his pamphlet collections have been collaborations with the artist Birtley Aris.

“The borders of the real and the imagined are frequently breached, and the world next door to the real is by no means a refuge. Bennet has armed himself with a sophisticated dramatic understanding learned in part from Browning, as well as propulsive rhythms. Charm can be followed by shock. There is a sense of mischief here, part of a rich, distinctive vision and its evolving music.” (The Guardian)

“Verbal panache that borders on the dandyish; conventional stanzas, predominantly iambic metre and occasional or elusive rhymes lend a misleadingly reassuring air to a poetry that is full of bold imaginative strokes, subversive connections and dark wit.” (Poetry Book Society Bulletin)

“But such is Bennet’s way: in his world nothing is ever simple and he tells us so with a linguistic inventiveness and panache that are rare in contemporary verse. This is poetry that – unfashionably – sings.” (Times Literary Supplement)

Peter Bennet’s eighth book, Mischief, is forthcoming from Bloodaxe Books.

Colette Bryce

Colette Bryce is a poet from Derry, Northern Ireland. She moved to England as a student in 1988 and settled in London for some years while starting out as a writer. She received the Eric Gregory Award for emerging poets in 1995. After a year teaching in Madrid, she took up a fellowship at Dundee University from 2002-05, and was subsequently appointed North East Literary Fellow at the universities of Newcastle and Durham 2005-2007. She has lived in Newcastle since then, as a freelance writer and editor, including various roles at Newcastle University.

Her first collection The Heel of Bernadette (2000) won the Aldeburgh Prize and the inaugural Strong Award for new Irish poets. She won first prize in the UK National Poetry Competition for the title poem of her second book, The Full Indian Rope Trick (2004), which was followed by Self-Portrait in the Dark in 2008. From 2009-2013 she was Poetry Editor for Poetry London. The Whole & Rain-domed Universe (2014), which draws on her experience of growing up in Derry during the Troubles, received a Ewart-Biggs Award in memory of Seamus Heaney. Selected Poems (2017), drawing on all her books, is a Poetry Book Society Special Commendation.

Online
Colette Bryce

Alison Gangel

Alison Gangel started her teaching career as head of music at a comprehensive school in Newcastle upon Tyne, and now teaches English at a Catholic comprehensive school in Gateshead. She has lived in Newcastle for over 20 years with her daughters Lorna and Jessica. The Sun Hasn’t Fallen From the Sky, published by Bloomsbury in 2011, is her first book.

Paul O'Neill

Paul O’Neill works mainly in the short story form. Paul studied creative writing under the poets Anthony Caleshu and Tony Lopez at the University of Plymouth and was awarded a first class honours degree. Paul has previously had work published in the Short Fiction and Random Acts of Writing journals. As well as his work as an adult literacy teacher, Paul is currently working on a collection of stories – The Beginner’s Guide to Catholic Guilt – and a play, The Handsome Pork Butcher.

Anna Woodford

Anna Woodford is a poet and practitioner based in Newcastle. Her poetry collection Birdhouse won the Crashaw Prize and was included in the Guardian’s round up of the best poetry books of the year. Her pamphlet ‘Party Piece’ was a winner in the international Poetry Business Competition. Her pamphlet ‘Trailer’ was a Poetry Book Society Choice.

She has received an EPSRC grant for a residency at York University’s CoMotion Research Centre, a Leverhulme Award for a residency at Durham University’s Law School, an Eric Gregory Award, an Arvon/Jerwood Apprenticeship, a Hawthornden Fellowship and residencies at the Blue Mountain Center (New York) and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre, Ireland. She has been poet in residence at Alnwick Garden and the Tyne & Wear Fire & Rescue Service. She is a peer reviewer for Creative Scotland.

Her poems have been published in the Times Literary Supplement, Rialto, Poetry London and Poetry Review.
Anna has a PhD in the poetry of Sharon Olds. She teaches creative writing in HE and the community. She helps facilitate New Writing North’s annual Read Regional campaign with the poet Linda France.

Publications
Birdhouse (Salt, 2010)
Party Piece (Smith/Doorstop, 2009)
Trailer (Five Leaves, 2007)
The Higgins’ Honeymoon (Driftwood, 2001)

Online
Anna Woodford

Luke Allan

Luke Allan is a poet and publisher based in Manchester. He studied creative writing at UEA before working for a number of years as a project manager in the arts and as a freelance book designer in Newcastle and Edinburgh, during which time he also edited the Newcastle Philosophy Society journal. He is founding-editor of the poetry press ‘sine wave peak’ and editor of journal Quait, as well as co-founder of the poetry magazine, Butcher’s Dog. In 2011 his poetry received a Northern Promise Award. He is the author of one collection of poems, minimum soft exchange (MIEL, 2015).

Niel Bushnell

Niel Bushnell is a writer and artist from Hartlepool, Teesside. He began his career working as a comic artist before moving into animation on the feature films Space Jam and Lost in Space. He has also produced animation and illustrations for computer games, including Harry Potter and the Philosophers’ Stone.

In 2002, Niel established Qurios, an animation and VFX studio which has contributed to many UK TV shows, including Spooks and Tracy Beaker Returns.
His first novel, a children’s fantasy adventure called Sorrowline, won a Northern Promise award at the Northern Writers Awards 2011. The award helped clinch a two-book publishing deal with Andersen Press for Sorrowline and its sequel, Timesmith. Rights to both have also been sold in Germany and Brazil. His literary agent is Juliet Mushens at Peters Fraser & Dunlop.

Publications
Sorrowline (Andersen Press, 2013)

Online
Website: http://www.nielbushnell.com
Twitter: @NielBushnell

Daniel Hardisty

Wendy Heath

Wendy Heath lives in North Shields. Her recent booklet book of Greta Oak is published by Sine Wave Peak. On New Year’s Day 2012, her poem, A Winter Missing, was featured in Ruth Padel’s Poetry Workshop on Radio 4. In 2010 she achieved an MA in creative writing from Newcastle University. She also has a visual arts practice.

Click here to listen to a recording of book of Greta Oak.

Amy Mackelden

Amy Mackelden writes poetry and microfiction. Her blog, July 2061, is nominated in the Best Writing category of the Blog North Awards 2012. In 2011 she won a Northern Promise Award from New Writing North and was shortlisted for the Cinnamon Press Poetry Collection Award. One of her stories was longlisted for the Bristol Short Story Prize 2011 and she has been published by Leaf Books, Cinnamon Press, Square Magazine, and Fractured West.

She is half of words and music duo The Copy Room, with banjoist Dan Walsh. The pair were Simon Armitage’s support act at the launch of Durham Book Festival 2010, and have performed at Hexham Book Festival, Tyneside Cinema’s 75th Birthday Party, Trashed Organ and Oxjam Newcastle. They received an Arts Council Grant to develop their show, Places We Call Home, the CD of which is available now.

Amy debuted her first full-length spoken word show, The 8 Fatal Mistakes of Online Dating (and how to avoid them) at the Durham Book Festival 2012. Musician Andy Playford provides a live musical score for the show. Co-commissioned by Durham Book Festival, Amy is being mentored by Kate Fox and directed by Annie Rigby.

Online
Website: http://amymackelden.com
Blog: http://july2061.com
Twitter: @july2061

Danny O'Connor

Danny O’Connor was born in Middlesbrough in 1985 and remains grateful for its ever increasing stock of folk tales, including ‘the man who drank petrol’, ‘the terrible magpie of Bankfields’ and ‘the time Juninho discovered snow’. He is currently finishing his doctoral thesis on the poet, Ted Hughes. He has published poems in various magazines, including The Salzburg Review and Smiths Knoll, and is working on his first novel, Worms.

Alan Remfry

Alan Remfry was born in London, and now lives in the Durham Dales. He worked as primary education advisor for London schools, then as a science officer, managing data for conservation body English Nature in Newcastle. Writing was sidelined, until early retirement gave Alan the opportunity to develop works in progress and explore speculative ideas. Alan writes crime novels, short stories, and plays, for adults and children. He is currently working on a new novel, Viktor.

Andrew Sclater

It may be of interest that Sclatrie in old Scots means obscenities or scandals. And Sclater is of Orcadian origin. To avoid trouble, Andrew has spent most of his working life with plants, gardens and landscapes. In his last full-time job, he was an editor of Charles Darwin’s letters. Then he moved to Northumberland to spend more time with his own writing. In 2010, Andrew was shortlisted by Picador in the Picador Poetry Prize. In the following year, he received a Northern Promise Award from New Writing North. In 2012, after moving to Edinburgh, he had the good fortune of a New Writers Award from the Scottish Book Trust, a residency at Hugh MacDiarmid’s Brownsbank Cottage, and a place on the Orkney Writers’ Course. He enjoys performing his work and has appeared on podiums in Newcastle, Edinburgh and in Amuse Bouche at ARC, Stockton-on-Tees. Andrew is also a dry stone waller and a motorcyclist. A peaceable reiver, he comes south of the border as often as he can.

Andrew’s work has appeared in Alliterati, deseeded, and Magma. Poems are forthcoming (2012) in Butcher’s Dog and Shearsman.

Gavin Williams

Gavin Williams is a writer and film-maker based in Newcastle. He has been commissioned across film/TV, stage, and prose by a range of publishers, production companies and broadcasters, including YTV, Channel 5, Carlton, Durham Gala Theatre, Penguin, Corgi/Transworld. His novel, Hush (written with Tim Lebbon) was shortlisted for Best Novel in the British Fantasy Awards (republished in 2005, now available as Kindle edition). As Alex Sharp he wrote the original tie-in novel, Driver: Nemesis, for Random House.

In 2010 Gavin wrote Heaven’s Got Talent for Durham Gala Theatre’s modernised mystery plays. He also worked on RTS award-winning ARG, Time Machine, and the Discovery Museum’s Newcastle Story exhibition.

His short film as a writer/director, Sleepworking (2013), won eight awards, including Grand Jury prize at the SF+Fantasy short film festival, Seattle, and Prix du Jury at the Utopiales International Festival of Science Fiction. Sleepworking played at sixty festivals, including Leeds International Film Festival.

His debut feature, Await Further Instructions, starring David Bradley (Harry Potter series), was directed by Johnny Kevorkian (The Disappeared) and produced by Shudder Films. It will be released in 2018.

Gavin was recently short-listed for the Sundance Institutes’s top-level Story Labs initiative, with his gender-driven sci-fi TV project, Gorgons.

Online
Gavin Williams

Jake Campbell

Jake Campbell is from South Shields, Tyne and Wear. He has published two pamphlets of poetry: ‘The Coast Will Wait Behind You’ (Art Editions North, 2015) and ‘Definitions of Distance’ (Red Squirrel Press, 2012). He co-founded the poetry magazine Butcher’s Dog and came second in the 2016 Basil Bunting Poetry Prize. His poems, reviews and articles have appeared in a range of national and international journals and magazines, including: Dark Mountain, the Newcastle Evening Chronicle, The Northern Correspondent, Prac Crit and The Rialto. He is currently an AHRC Northern Bridge-funded PhD student at Newcastle University, undertaking practice-based research into North-Eastern poetries and writing his first full-length collection. Recent work in collaboration has seen Jake’s poems displayed on billboards at the sea front in South Shields; at The Atkinson Gallery in Southport as part of ‘Ghosts of the Restless Shore: Space, Place and Memory of the Sefton Coast’ exhibition; and at Jarrow Hall (Bede’s World), as part of ‘Stringing Bedes: A Poetry and Print Pilgrimage’. He lives in South Tyneside.

Online
Jake Campbell
@jakecampbell88

Shelley Day Sclater

Shelley Day Sclater is a Geordie lass, a lapsed lawyer and academic psychologist. Her debut novel, The Confession of Stella Moon, won the Andrea Badenoch Award in 2011, was shortlisted for the Dundee Book Prize in 2013, and longlisted for the Bath Novel Award 2014. Shelley was named as one of Edinburgh City of Literature’s emerging writers in 2013 and read at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. In 2015 she won a Northern Writers’ Award for her short story collection, what are you like, which will be published by Red Squirrel Press in 2019. She lives on the Northumberland coast and is represented by Jenny Brown.

Online
Twitter: @pascalebientot
Facebook: facebook.com/shelleydayauthor
Website: shelleyday.com