The Bridport Prize International Writing Competition announces the 2010 winners. Judged by Michael Laskey and Zoë Heller.
“Mention the Bridport Prize and the eyes of writers everywhere light up. It’s not just the money – though that’s not to be sneezed at – its a prize really worth fighting for in terms of prestige and genuine literary accomplishment.’ Fay Weldon CBE, Patron
- Esther Morgan wins the 5,000 first prize for poetry
- Alison Fisher wins the 5,000 first prize for short story
- Miranda McLeod and Patricia Middleton win 500 joint first prize for flash fiction
Poetry
Judging the poetry entries, Poet Michael Laskey said, Only writing of real quality can survive the close scrutiny and exhaustive interrogations that any work entered for the Bridport must undergo – a guarantee that each of these prizewinning and commended poems is well worth re-reading. Michael Laskey awarded Esther Morgan from Bungay, Norfolk, the first prize of 5,000 for her poem This Morning.
- Second prize of 1,000 was awarded to Rowland Molony from Beer, Devon
- Third prize of 500 went to Jennifer Copley of Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.
Short Stories
Author Zoë Heller, judging the short story category said, The winning authors were so consistently deft and alert and confident in their command of their material, that choosing them was really no choice at all: they more or less demanded to win. Zo레eller chose The Woodcutters Wife by Alison Fisher from Brighton, for the first prize, winning the writer 5,000
- Wayne Price from Aberdeen won the second prize of 1,000
- Third prize of 500 was awarded to Kirsty Logan of Glasgow.
Flash Fiction
Also judging the new flash fiction category, Zoë Heller, said The flash fiction category makes the short story seem a positively relaxed, languorous affair. To create something in 250 words that isnt a mere fragment, seemed to me such a difficult task, that I didnt have particularly high hopes of this years submissions: I was delighted to have my expectations confounded. Zoe awarded joint first prize, sharing 1,000, to Miranda McLeod of New York for her story Shipments, and Patricia Middleton from France, for hers, entitled Glass Flowers.
Runners Up
- Runners-up prizes for poetry were won by Sarah Barr, Miles Burrows, Angela Cleland, Josephine Corcoran, Edward Doegar, Cheryl Moskowitz, Jennifer Olds, Miwa Ota, Ian Pindar, Anne Stewart.
- Runners-up prizes for short story were won by Claudia Abbott, Carol Anderson, Honoria Beirne, Sue Butler, Anthony Dew, Bernie McGill, Linda Newbery, K J Orr, Robert Powell, Jendi Reiter
Judging the Bridport Prize 2011 competition is Carol Ann Duffy for poetry and A L Kennedy for short stories.
Entry forms for The Bridport Prize 2011 are available in January from The Bridport Prize, PO Box 6910, Bridport DT6 9BQ, UK (send an SASE). Alternatively, you can enter online at www.bridportprize.org.uk
