Share
The three winners of the James Berry Poetry Prize will each win £1,000, receive year-long mentoring and their debut book length collection will be published by Bloodaxe Books. The winning poets will be invited to take part in a James Berry Poetry Prize reading as part of the NCLA events series.
Devised by Booker Prize winner Bernardine Evaristo with inclusivity specialist Dr Nathalie Teitler, the prize is the first national poetry prize to include both mentoring and book publication. It is named in honour of James Berry, OBE (1927-2017), one of the first black writers in Britain to receive wider recognition. He emigrated from Jamaica in 1948, and took a job with British Telecom, where he spent much of his working life until he was able to support himself from his writing. He rose to prominence in 1981 when he won the National Poetry Competition.
Multimedia Journalist for RTÉ Entertainment
International Women s Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. It also marks a call to action for accelerating gender equality. We ve rounded up six trailblazing female Irish artists who continue to inspire, encourage and make their mark on women s rights every day.
Denise Chaila
Fast-rising Limerick star Denise Chaila has been making waves in the music industry since the release of her infectiously catchy chart-topping hit single,
Chaila, which was released last summer.
Just mere months later, her powerful debut album,
Go Bravely, lit up the music scene, with many praising the talented artist for her flowing lyrics covering themes of identity, belonging and sexism.
ADVERTISEMENT
Bowler said: “It absorbs you once again in the inner lives of characters with brilliant minds and aching hearts, while marking the next creative leap from a singular writer. The book scintillates with intelligence, empathy and, yes, beauty.”
The novel will be published by Faber and will feature the story of Alice and Eileen, “two best friends nearing their thirties in different places and on very different trajectories”.
“As the summer approaches, they exchange emails about art, friendship, the world around them and the complicated love affairs unfolding in their own lives. They say they want to see each other again soon. But what will happen when they do?”
Seán Hewitt: Trinity s Rising Literary Star – The University Times universitytimes.ie - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from universitytimes.ie Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Bernard wins for the poetry collection
Surge (Penguin Random House/Chatto & Windus), which is about the disastrous party blaze in Southeast Londo9n in 1981 known as the New Cross Fire. Thirteen Black partiers aged 13 to 22 were killed in the event, and a 14th party attendee later committed suicide. The event became a potent and lasting flashpoint in British race relations and official indifference, prompting the protest slogan, “13 Dead, Nothing Said.”
Bernard’s treatment of the subject draws parallels to the 2017 Grenfell Fire incident, in which the blaze at a 24-story apartment building reportedly killed 72 people and injured at least 70.
The writer who prefers the pronouns