The organisers of Burnham Book Festival have this week announced the shortlist authors of their writing competitions.
Burnham Book Festival takes place from May 17th-19th at Burnham’s Princess Theatre and Burnham Library.
Author and judge Jonathan Pinnock says: “This year, there’s been such a fantastic and diverse range of styles in both the poetry and short story categories.”
“Deciding on a shortlist hasn’t been easy. But we’ve made our decision and the entries have been passed on to judges Richard Jones of Tangent Books, authors Sue Purkiss and Alex Cotter, and poet TC Arkle.”
The shortlisted writers are:
11 & Under Poetry:
- Flightless – Emma Rose Johnson
- Journey to Freedom – Lowenna Piper
- Me – Mia Shore
- My Dog Ruby – Eliza Baldwin
- That’s What Happens When You Don’t Give Me a Spoon – Fern Robin
- The Ghastly Gramo – Beth Hoare
- The Sky at Night – Emma Rose Johnson
- The Snake – Fern Bishop
12-18 Poetry:
- A Monster is a Man – Hadley Carreras-Bennett
- Artificial Intelligence and the Human Hand – Grace Poole
- Beware the Lonely Werewolf – Ellen Smith
- Drag – Hadley Carreras-Bennett
- I Am What I Be – Tyler Cuddeford
- The Small City Life – Noelie Lever
Adult (19+) Poetry:
- A Bit of Advice – Myst Dando
- Culmstock Beacon – Jamie Koudia
- Labels – Macaque
- The Notice – Susan Hutchings
- The River Lamprey – Sanchia Rachael
- The Secret Life of the Charity Shop – Alison Rosser
- Washlands Like These – Sarah Leavesley/James
11 & Under Short Story:
- Dragons – Rosie Wakefield-Paul
- Elisha the Super Ape – Stephen Baldwin
- Moony – Emma Rose Johnson
- The Big Freeze – Jesse Elsworth
- The Extraordinary Blob – Lily Elsworth
- The Magic Violin – Pollyanna Graham
- The Way to the New Land – William T Paull
12-18 Short Story:
- An Ordinary Day – Alexander Shaw-Young
- Curiosity Killed the Cat – M.R. Casper
- Fragmented – Alexander Shaw-Young
- I’ll be Home by Christmas – Sasha Keates
- Incident C-54 – Jake Hitchcock
- Martha – Ola
- The Bench – Emily Smith
- The clearing – Freya Sanders
Adult (19+) Short Story:
- An Idea of Heaven – Fenja Hill
- Be True to Your Bar – Tabitha Bast
- Cracks – Alexis Brooks
- Deep Down – Josie Turner
- For the Record – Macaque
- Kathe Kovak & the Pro Ks – James Kingston
- The Timely Passing of Norman Butler – Alison Rosser
“We received hundreds of entries, continuing a year on year upward trend,” adds organiser Lewis Coleman. “It was amazing to see so many writers taking part, some familiar names too. In fact, two local authors have made the shortlist this year and both previous years. Alex Shaw-Young in the 12 – 18 age category and Macaque, in the adult category, have not only appeared every year, but also this year they’ve both been shortlisted twice! It’s amazing to see, and both are local writers. It makes us feel like we’re nurturing talent.”
The stories and poems will be published in an anthology, which will be available at the festival. The winner of the cover competition was announced previously on social media. Vicky Derrick’s striking artwork will appear on this year’s book.
Sponsored by local author Damien Boyd, the winners will be awarded at a ceremony 2:00pm on Sunday 19th May.
This festival will take place from May 17th to 19th in The Princess Theatre and Burnham Library. It features talks, workshops and panel sessions, plus music from The Quarrymen, the band that gave birth to the Beatles, and The Mangledwurzels. The full programme is available here: bit.ly/BBFprog2024
The event is returning after the success of the first event, the 2023 Burnham Food Festival.
For more information on Burnham Book Festival see burnhambookfest.co.uk
