walk · listen · create’s Sound Walk September inaugural writing competition came to a fabulous finale with a showcase of shortlisted authors reading their work and discussing these with special guest Simon Piasecki.
Whittled down from over 120 submissions, to a long list of 26 published on the walk · listen · create website, and then to a shortlist of 15, with those stories and poems printed in WALKING a wonderfully illustrated limited edition chapbook, published, illustrated and designed by Alban Low.
Lydia Kennaway came away as the winner in the poetry competition with her extraordinary moving and rhythmic poem about a march of 250 blind people protesting about working rights, an actual event that took place in April 1920 her poem “Blind march to London April5th-25th 1920”
Quote from Lydia on receiving her prize:
“Thank you so much for such a wonderful event, and for all the hard work that went into it. I’m really delighted to have won the poetry category and look forward to my ‘residency’ with you!”
Performing her story “Walk, Look, Listen, Slow Marathon Cabrach – Huntly”, Claudia Zeiske kept the audience rapped. She however, was more shocked than anyone, at learning the news that her story had been chosen by the judges as the winner.
“I just wanted to say that I am over the Moon to have won the Prose prize. It never entered my thoughts in a million years. I so much look forward to be your writer-in-residence.”
On-line writers-in-residence
Both Lydia and Claudia become ‘on-line writers in residence’ for walk · listen · create, through to the end of Sound Walk September 2022, as well as receiving prizes of Silver membership. They along with the runner-up in poetry, Liz Nicholas for “Stepsounds” and in prose, Jo Riggall for “Noticing”, also receive a piece of artwork by Alban Low, the illustrator (and publisher) of the anthology chapbook.
We would like to thank
All those who submitted to the writing competition (we hope to see you all next time) plus our Volunteer judges: Dr Kerri Andrews and Geert Vermeire considered the poetry entries, and Nick Hallissey and Nigel Bristow the prose entries and chapbook editor: Rebekah Lattin-Rawstrone.
Pick up a copy pick up your copy of WALKING from our shop
Read the long list including the shortlist and winning poems and stories.
Check out walk · listen · create‘s autumn season of Walking Writers Salons that begins on Tuesday 19 October with guest Martyn Howe, or submit your writing to Shorelines our on-going creative writing initiative, or enlist for “Writing Words of Wonder” our monthly creative writing workshop with writing competition shortlister Electra Rhodes.