Congratulations to all the overall winners and shortlisted writers of the PENfro Festival Writing Awards. They will all be published in the inaugural Penfro Festival anthology Heartland, which will be launched on Saturday 12 October at PENfro Festival at lunchtime, with judges Rhiannon Hooson and Niall Griffiths present. We really hope to see you there!
The overall winner of the Short Story Prize, Richard Owain Roberts, will be releasing his debut novel Hello Friend We Missed You through us in May 2020 and his debut short story collection All The Places We Lived is available from our online store. Richard won for his story 'Terrence Malick’. Judged by Niall Griffiths, the shortlisted stories are:
‘Vaj-Nut Hut’ by Estelle Birdy
‘The Tenant Joneses’ by Morgan Davies
‘Cream Horns’ by Eluned Gramich
‘Everything Pie’ by David McVey
‘Another One Bites the Dust’ by Kelly Van Nelson
‘Dead Sheep/Babies’ by Diana Powell
‘The Islanders’ by Julie Ann Rees
‘Blushing Rainwater’ by Kathryn Tann
‘The Puppet Mistress’ by Rebecca Trick-Walker
‘Beneath a Sky, Kingfisher Blue’ by Steve Wade
‘Table for One’ by Ben Wildsmith
'This anthology is proof that … people are driven to write, to grapple with the fundamentals of being human, to express their unique selves… That it continues to be realised with such ingenuity and endeavour as evidenced in these pages is cause for celebration, admiration, and hope.' – Niall Griffiths
The Poetry Prize was judged by Rhiannon Hooson, who chose 'Heartland' by Elizabeth Wilson Davies as the overall winner, and shortlisted the following poems and poets:
‘Double Helix’ by Moira Ashley
‘Sugarland’ by Darren J Beaney
‘Self-Portrait with Onion’ by Kittie Belltree, which features in her debut collection Sliced Tongue and Pearl Cufflinks also launching through Parthian in October.
‘The Sound of Death in a Soft Mouth’ by Jane Burn
‘Sudden Midlife Storms’ by Selma Carvalho
‘Furnaceman’ by David J Costello
‘DIY’ by Ellen Davies
‘Ministry of Labour, A Dictionary of Occupational Terms’ by Philip Dunn
‘After Iconoclasm: The Jesse Tree Window’ by Angela Graham
‘Alterations’ by Maeve Henry
‘The Art of Plaiting Hair’ by Karen E Hill
‘By-the-wind Sailors’ by Rosalind Hudis
‘Your Father’s Father had Eyes Like Yours’ by Phil Jones
‘Angelology’ by Kathy Miles
‘Summoning’ by Kathy Miles
‘Sorting Office’ by Ian Murray
‘Green’ by Derek Sellen
‘Cinnamon Girl’ by Mary Anne Smith
‘Touring Tenby With the Man I Will One Day Marry’ by Christina Thatcher, whcih features in her second collection How to Carry Fire, out through Parthian in May 2020.
‘Lord of Carrion’ by Anthony Watts
Read the judges reports for the Short Story and Poetry Prizes on the PENfro website
Ranging across the globe, from sheep-strewn Welsh hills to an edgy Belgrade, and encompassing themes as diverse as doppelgängers and jellyfish, this anthology is an exploration of human essentials, containing all the humour, poignancy and awe that being human evokes.
Bringing together the twelve winning short stories and the twenty-one winning poems from this year’s Penfro Festival competition, as selected by Niall Griffiths and Rhiannon Hooson, Heartland is a celebration of writing, and writers.
Pre-order Heartland from us for £9.99 and free P&P
Those eight shortlisted for the Short Radio Drama Prize by judge Kate McAll are:
