Short Story Winner - Gaynor Jones

Click here to read her winning work.

Gaynor Jones is the recipient of a 2020 Northern Writer’s Award from New Writing North for her short story collection, Girls Who Get Taken & Other Stories. She has won or placed in the Bath Flash Fiction Award, the Bridport Prize for Flash Fiction and the Anton Chekov Award for Very Short Fiction. Her writing has been widely published and can be found in the Aesthetica Creative Writing Annual, Barrelhouse and The Forge among others. Her novella-in-flash, Among These Animals, was published by Ellipsis Zine in March 2020. She has headlined and guested at spoken word nights across the North West and performed at the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe with For Books’ Sake.

When asked how winning has changed her writing career Gaynor said: 

Winning the short story award was a huge turning point for me. Being mentored by Paul McVeigh for my prize, so early on in my career was invaluable and I have no doubt that his insights have helped me to the place that I am today. It brought my work to a wider audience and boosted my confidence immensely. Working with Paul, and winning the prize, gave me the courage to continue submitting and to commit to writing long-term.

Poetry Winner - Milena Williamson

Click here to read her winning work. 

Milena Williamson is from Swarthmore, Pennsylvania and she is currently pursuing a PhD in Creative Writing at the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen’s University Belfast. She won the 2018 Mairtín Crawford Poetry Award and the 2020 Streetcake Magazine experimental writing poetry prize. Her poetry has been published on RTÉ and in Banshee, Blackbox Manifold, Hold Open the Door, and Poetry Ireland Review among others. Find out more on her website.

When asked how winning changed her writing career Milena said:

Winning the Mairtín Crawford Poetry Award helped me grow as a poet. At the time, I had just finished my Masters degree and I felt like I was at a crossroads, unsure of what to do next with my poetry and myself. When I won this award, it helped build my confidence; I continued submitting my poetry to literary journals, applied to do a PhD and learned to see myself as an emerging poet. As an American living in Northern Ireland, I'm incredibly honoured and grateful to be recognized by Belfast's literary community. In short, the award helped me feel like I belonged in poetry and in Northern Ireland. As part of the prize, I spent time at the incredible The River Mill where I edited my poetry, read books and formed friendships with other writers.

Runner-Up's

Short Story Runner-Up's; Niall Bourke and Elizabeth Gallagher 

Poetry runner-up: Paul McMahon

In 2018 the Poetry Award entered its second year and we saw the introduction of the Short Story Award. The judging panel for the Poetry Award was headed by Moyra Donaldson who was supported by Paul Maddern and Matt Kirkman, whilst Jan Carson was the judge of the Short Story Award.

The Winner's of each Award received a cash prize and a mentorship, which was delivered by Paul Maddern (Poetry) and Paul McVeigh (Short Story). The Tyrone Guthrie Centre also provided an additional prize for the most promising writer across both Awards. 

Thanks to NIPR for supporting the Awards in 2018.