POET Laureate Carol Ann Duffy is Creative Director of The Manchester Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University. On the eve of the gala prize giving for the 2016 Manchester Writing Competition, she praised the contribution Manchester makes to the literary world, speaking of the “innovation, surprise and graft” that is at the heart of written work produced in the city.
It’s hard to be a writer, you need time and space
Attracting thousands of entries from writers in more than 50 countries and organised by The Manchester Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University, the Manchester Writing Competition provides two prizes of £10,000 – one for poetry and one for fiction (up to 2,500 words). All work has to be previously unpublished.
Carol Ann, Creative Director of The Manchester Writing School, added: “ I first had the idea of setting up the Manchester Writing Competition because I wanted to celebrate the ethos of The Manchester Writing School.
“In the writing school, all of the Masters students are taught by practitioners: by fiction writers, children’s writers, poets, so we actually live the life of the writer and I wanted to spread that ethos.
“The idea of support for writers was very important for me. It’s hard to be a writer, you need time and space. This was a way of providing all of that in quite significant awards, given in praise and recognition of the winning submissions.”
She is proud that the competition has provided a platform for a diverse range of new writing talent, including the poet Helen Mort. Mort is now a lecturer at The Manchester Writing School and a member of the judging panel for the 2016 Manchester Poetry Prize.
Carol Ann added: “Helen won a young writers award, a few years ago. She found a great encouragement and validation, also a little bit of money. I think it’s a bit like putting a battery in a torch. It gives energy to the element, so that it sheds a bit of light.”
This year’s prizes will be awarded in a gala prize giving ceremony in the Baronial Hall at Chetham’s Library, Manchester, on Friday, November 25.
And while Carol Ann is not giving anything away about this year’s winners, she is prepared to provide some insight into what constitutes an award-winning piece of poetry or fiction.
She adds: “If someone asked me what would make a winning entry, I would find that difficult to answer. I was one of the judges in the first year, along with Gillian Clarke and Imtiaz Dharker, and we did read every single entry.
“What we were looking for was to have our way of thinking altered, to be changed in some way, or to hear distinctive music. Interestingly, although we were judging in Manchester, Wales and London with no contact, we all had the same shortlist, so something was coming through from those entries.
“But I don’t go in with an agenda and a tick box. I just want to be in the presence of a new beast and you know that in your heart and your mind, and indeed your body. It’s like coming into a clearing and finding a strange new animal that you haven’t seen before when I find a good poem.”
Visit http://www.manchesterwritingcompetition.co.uk for more details about The Manchester Writing Competition and this year’s shortlist. The Manchester Writing Competition gala prize-giving event takes place between 7.30pm and 9.30pm on Friday, November 25.
Follow the Manchester Writing Competition live on Twitter via the Twitter handle @McrWritingSchl or using the hashtag #MCRWritingComp
Chetham's Baronial Hall
