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

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”

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.’