Penny Walker for her story Seeing the Moon and Elizabeth Fevyer for her poem Nightstepper are the winners of our annual Write About Walking competition, collecting the prize of becoming our writers-in-residence for 2025/26.
Poetry judge and out-going poet-in-residence, Damaris West commented on the poetry entries:
“Judging the ‘In the dark’ competition was not an easy matter. Every poem had something to recommend it, many of them a great deal, and the approaches to the theme could not have been more varied. A polished, compelling poem which had something new to say was likely to be the winner. A few came close but were let down by stanzas which didn’t adhere to the theme, a weak final line, or distracting punctuation. The unanimous choice was “Nightstepper” for its powerful imagery, its unrelenting pace, its drama, the resonance of its ending, and above all its supreme craftsmanship.”
Our out-going story writer in residence, Chantal Lyons who acted as a judge commented on Penny’s story:
“Brief and utterly vivid, Seeing the Moon shows the power of well-chosen words. The setting feels familiar, could be contemporary – until a certain detail is offered. All the scenes happen in the dark, yet time and rhythm have presence too, enwrapped in tide and moon. And while the first line suggests that danger is never far, the story is suffused with heart and quiet hope.”
This year’s competition themed on walking “In The Dark” supported the global action Women walking, the City, at Night created by Eléonore Ozanne, who presented at the live Showcase at which Penny and Elizabeth were declared winners and all 11 competition shortlisted authors read their poems and stories. The Showcase was compered by Electra Rhodes who was in charge of last year’s competition Showcase and is a shortlisted author in two previous competitions. We would especially like to thank Alban Low for creating such wonderful artwork for the prizes and chapbook anthology of poems and stories that were shortlisted in the competition.
Feature Photo by Alvis Wolff on Unsplash
APA style reference
Related
Write About Walking In The Dark Showcase
Write About Walking In The Dark Showcase event introduces new writing from 11 shortlisted authors of the walk · listen · create annual writing competition and includes readings of their poetry and prose. Erin Bondo, Krista Carson, Paul Connolly, Elizabeth Fevyer, Eleanor Holmes, Sarah Leavesley/James, Rosaleen Lynch, Isabella Mead Husain, Laura Theis, Penny Walker, and Emily Wilkinson. We are delighted that author and poet Electra
• 
+12 Draped in Darkness
We are delighted to announce the short listed entries in our annual Write About Walking writing competition that this year, had a theme of “Walking In The Dark” in support of the global action “Women walking, the City, at Night“. Fourteen poems and stories from eleven writers were chosen by the judges, and will be
• 
Poet Open Call with Kinetika’s T100
Applications are open for a poet commission as part of the 2026 T100 Festival, Seeing Thurrock Differently: A Journey Home. The festival celebrates Thurrock’s landscapes, stories and communities, inviting people to reflect on belonging and what it means to call a place home. We are looking for a poet with experience of community-engaged practice and a
You must be logged in to post a comment.