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The shortlists for The Wigtown Poetry Prizes, Scotland’s international poetry awards celebrating the country’s three indigenous languages, have been unveiled.
In total, 25 entries are now in the running for five different awards: the Wigtown Prize, the Wigtown Scots Prize, Wigtown Scottish Gaelic Prize, the Alastair Reid Pamphlet Prize and the Dumfries and Galloway Fresh Voice Award.
The Wigtown Prize is open to work in English, Scots or Scottish Gaelic, and the winner receives £1,500 and the runner up £200. The Wigtown Scots Prize, supposed by the Saltire Society, is worth £500, with the runner-up receiving £200. The Wigtown Gaidhlig Prize, supported by Comhairle nan Leabhraichean/The Gaelic Books Council, also has a £500/£200 prize split.
The Dumfries & Galloway Fresh Voices Award is for poets living in, or from, Dumfries and Galloway who have never professionally published a full-length collection. The prize is a package of professional support including mentoring by Wigtown Festival Company and a retreat hosted by Moniack Mhor Writers’ Centre.
The Alastair Reid Pamphlet Prize, named in memory of one of Scotland’s “foremost literary talents”, recognises a collection of work rather than individual poems. The prize is for the work to be set as a pamphlet by Gerry Cambridge and published by the Wigtown Festival Company.
The winners will be announced at a special event in the County Buildings, Wigtown, hosted by Hugh McMillan as part of the Wigtown Book Festival on Friday 29th September at 7.30 p.m.
Nicholas Walker, Wigtown Poetry Prize group chair, said: “The prize has earned a worldwide reputation for the quality of entries and for championing poetry in each of the country’s indigenous languages. This year’s awards further underline the point, with entries coming from as far afield as Finland, Israel, Japan and New Zealand.
“We are also pleased to be nurturing talent from within our own region through the Dumfries & Galloway Fresh Voices Award. Just making it onto the shortlist is a tremendous achievement from the hundreds of entries we received; and I would like to congratulate every one of the people who has reached this stage. We are now looking forward to the judges’ final decisions, and being able to announce the winners at a special event during this month’s Wigtown Book Festival.”
Donald S Murray, who is judging The Wigtown Prize and the Alastair Reid Pamphlet Prize, said: “Among the hundreds of poems I came across while judging this competition, there were a countless number that impressed me. Some were playful and amusing, full of fun and laughter; others touching and moving, dealing with grief and loss. Some were inspirational in their sheer simplicity; others more complex and deserving of great thought and exploration.
“The most difficult task was narrowing the range down to a shortlist. There were many, in Gaelic, English and Scots, that deserved to be included. This was especially true among the contenders for the Alasdair Reid Pamphlet Prize. I relished and enjoyed much of the work I encountered while going through the pages of these varied and powerful collections. I have no doubt, however, of the quality of the verse that is shortlisted. Their words sparkled and shone, entering both my vision and understanding each time I experienced the strength of their imagery and language. Each one is a wonder of sorts. I feel blessed in being given the chance to explore them.”
Wigtown Prize
Wigtown Scots Prize
Wigtown Scottish Gaelic Prize
Alastair Reid Pamphlet Prize
Dumfries and Galloway Fresh Voice Award