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Writing Prizes

The University of Edinburgh's three creative writing prizes - submissions are closed. Winners to be announced!
 
Writing Prizes

Pollyanna Jackson — Wide as the Wall is Wide

Winner of the 2024 Lewis Edwards Memorial Prize

Pollyanna Jackson is an English Literature student based between Edinburgh and Oxfordshire, though soon to be making to move to Cumbria to start work as an Editor. She was shortlisted for the 2022 Bridport Prize, selected for Mark Gatiss’ writing programme with the Dartington Trust, and won the Lewis Edwards Memorial Prize in 2023 (and 2024). She enjoys writing fiction and short essays, and is always working on a novel.

‘Oops, I did it again! I’m completely bowled away and honoured to have won the Lewis Edwards Prize, this piece means a lot to me and it’s so rewarding to have it recognised.’

You can catch her on Substack https://open.substack.com/pub/pollyannamj

Her Instagram is @pollyanna.jackson

Emily Wheeler — An Ode to Drinking Champagne in the Parking Lot of a Local Church

WINNER OF THE 2024 GRIERSON VERSE PRIZE

Emily Wheeler is a poet and English teacher from Virginia, USA, and earned her Bachelor of Science in English from Radford University. Her work has been published or is forthcoming in many magazines, including Blue River Review, Exit 109, Wingless Dreamer, and From Arthur’s Seat. Emily has always had a love for reading stories and writing poems, and she writes to capture the small, intimate moments in living. She is currently completing an MSc in Creative Writing from The University of Edinburgh.

‘I am incredibly honored and grateful to have won the Grierson Verse Prize 2024. This poem allowed me to portray the tender, intimate moments of friendship as we grow older and explore the return to a place of nostalgia, like a parking lot, and the ruminations that accompany them.’

Social Media and Website:
Linkedin: @emilywheeler (here’s the link if it doesn’t work: www.linkedin.com/in/em1lywheeler )
Instagram: @__.emilyanne.__
Website: https://emilywheelerpoetry.weebly.com/

Read more“Emily Wheeler — An Ode to Drinking Champagne in the Parking Lot of a Local Church”

Suzy Enoch — Hame

WINNER OF THE 2024 SLOAN PRIZE

Suzy Enoch: ‘I am a Scottish writer, director, and actress who began my writing life in theatre. I love to work across disciplines and have worked considerably in narrative circus, co-founding contemporary circus company, Circus Alba. However, lockdown motivated me to delve into the world of prose writing and in 2023 I completed the Creative Writing Masters at the University of Edinburgh. I live in Edinburgh with my husband and three children.’

‘I am absolutely thrilled to receive this award and grateful for the recognition of work that is so personal to me. Writing ‘Hame’ was a real journey of discovery, finding ways to weave the threads of Scots vernacular and history into a narrative that speaks universally. Thank you to Michael Pedersen for seeing value in my little story.‘

Maya Engwell — Light House

JOINT RUNNER UP OF THE 2024 LEWIS EDWARDS MEMORIAL PRIZE   Maya Engwell: ‘I’m so pleased to have been chosen as runner up for the prize this year.  It’s a lovely leaving present and has given me a boost of confidence in my writing. Thanks Michael!’ I’ve also attached a …

Pollyanna Jackson: Georgie

Winner of the 2023 Lewis Edwards Memorial Prize Pollyanna Jackson is an English Literature student based in Edinburgh & Oxfordshire. She was shortlisted for the Bridport Prize in 2022, and selected by Mark Gatiss for his writing programme with the Dartington Trust that same year. She enjoys writing fiction and …

Rachel Rankin: Single Track Road

Winner of the 2023 Grierson Verse Prize Rachel Rankin is a poet and translator from Coatbridge, currently based in Edinburgh. She received a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award in 2019, a Dewar Arts Award in 2017, and was shortlisted for the 2017 Jane Martin Poetry Prize. Most recently, she …

Devki Panchmatia: Bear Hunt

Runner-Up for the 2023 Lewis Edwards Memorial Prize Devki Panchmatia is a poet based in Edinburgh and London. She was a runner up for the Orwell Youth Prize in 2019, has performed her poetry at the Hidden Door Festival, and is the assistant editor of Outcrop Poetry magazine. You can …

Suzanne Enoch: Stanes

Runner-Up for the 2023 Sloan Prize Suzy Enoch is a Scottish writer and actress who grew up in Aberdeen. After spending many years writing for stage and screen, she is currently completing the Creative Writing Masters in Edinburgh Uni. Stanes is her first foray into writing in Scots, and she …

Rosie Gandon: Four

Runner-Up for the 2023 Lewis Edwards Memorial Prize Rosie Gandon is a student and writer from East Sussex, currently studying Japanese and Linguistics in her first year at Edinburgh University. She has been writing ever since she was young, though this is her first time ever submitting a piece to …

Kate Genevieve: Lessons

Runner-Up for the 2023 Grierson Verse Prize Kate Genevieve is a Uk-based writer born and raised in Vancouver, Canada. She received her BA and a BEd  degrees from the University of British Columbia before pursuing a master’s degree in poetry at the University of Edinburgh. Her poetry can be found …

Alice Eaves: Breeding Fires

Runner-Up for the 2023 Grierson Verse Prize Alice Eaves is an artist and writer from Blackpool, England. She is currently completing her MSc in Creative Writing at the University of Edinburgh. She has been published or forthcoming in The Literary Platform, The Manchester Review and Origin Stories: An Anthology of Beginnings with …

Holly Sargent: Collecting Dust

Runner-Up for the 2023 Lewis Edwards Memorial Prize Holly Sargent is a fourth year student of English Literature from Bracknell, England. Her literary interests drew her to study in Scotland, where her writing has been performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. She also enjoys rocks, kitsch, and useless things a …

Meghan Link: The Sound o Hame

Runner-Up for the 2023 Sloan Prize Meghan Link is a Spanish and English Literature student at the University of Edinburgh, from rural Angus. Taking inspiration from her family connections to Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England, she is fascinated by the themes of language and identity. She writes in her spare …

Armaan: Hills of Basalt

Winner of the 2022 Lewis Edwards Memorial Prize Armaan Verma is a student of English Literature at the University of Edinburgh. He published his first book, ‘Glorious Greeks: Meet the Gods’, when he was eleven. His work has appeared in newspapers and magazines like The Quint, HIMAL Southasian, and The Skinny, …

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