All 2 entries tagged Warwick Prize For Writing

Warwick Prize Nominations Open to Students & Staff!

Writing about web page http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/insite/newsandevents/intnews2/2011_pfw_nominations

The Second Warwick Prize for Writing is now open for nominations and what's more, students are invited to submit titles as well. The theme for the 2011 Prize is 'Colour'. From the web pages:

The University has opened nominations for the second Warwick Prize for Writing. All University staff, Honorary Professors and Honorary Graduates can make a nomination – and this time, all Warwick students can do so too.

The Warwick Prize for Writing is unique in its scope: you can nominate any substantial piece of writing in the English language in any genre, discipline or form. It could have been published online, it could be a book, it could be factual or fictional. The Prize aims to identify excellence and innovation in new writing and help to define where writing may go, what new shapes and forms it may take and even through what media it might be conducted.

With a potential 21,000 staff & students, not to mention the Honorary Professors & Graduates on top, eligible to nominate books, I'd be tempted to encourage enough submissions to collapse the bureaucratic machine. But that's just my wilfully mischievous side coming through.

*edit 2/10/2: see comments, as Helen has pointed out bureaucratic machinery = Helen May. One person. Yes, that's right. Probably only take about 5000 entries to squash her flat, but you won't want to do that because she's lovely. But that doesn't mean don't submit, it just means, don't go saying silly anarchic statements on blogs when someone you know is lurking around the corner, unless, like me, you enjoy the taste of your own toes.*

Deadline is Friday 7th May 2010.

George Ttoouli : 05 Feb 2010 09:00 |  Tags: Warwick Prize For Writing |  Comments (2) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

And the Winner of the Warwick Prize for Writing is…

...well, the University of Warwick. By no fault of the judges, it had to be one of the most exciting choices, given Naomi Klein's popularity, at least in the English Department. Oh, there you go, I let it slip. I think it's not embargoed any more! It can't be. It's already been announced elsewhere online.

The announcement isn't even up at the main page yet! (Poor administrators and digital content managers are still out partying - sorry, working, most likely, entertaining the post-ceremony revellers.)

In any case, the Shock Doctrine is an exciting choice, a worthy choice, and makes me very happy. I'll confess very openly that I've been plugging for the underdogs - once the only poetry on the longlist (by Rachel Blau DuPlessis) was out, I went for the only novel on the list (by Enrique Vila-Matas). I even owe someone a coffee for getting that wrong, but it was well-worth it.

And I have to admit I have the Shock Doctrine has now climbed to the top of my reading list, alongside Tom McCarthy's 'Remainder'. Judging by the book's opening quotation from Argentinian novelist Cesar Aira, (and she also, I think, quoted Eduardo Galliano/Galeano in her speech at the ceremony tonight, who also inspired Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain, which I've heard great things about, but enough digression) I think Klein wouldn't have been too disappointed if Montano's Malady had won instead.

Anyway, a great day, a great ceremony, a fantastic vibe and some wonderful discussions flying around the place. Especially from this lot:

The discussions I had with all of them were wonderful: intelligent, inspired, inspiring. Was great to see such enthusiasm for books, for ideas and for great writing. Their blog has some excellent ideas on it and soon a video on the discussion they had when picking their own winner of the prize - which differed greatly from the 'grown up' judges' choice...

Congrats to all involved, especially Naomi Klein!

George Ttoouli : 24 Feb 2009 23:25 |  Tags: Creative Writing Warwick Prize For Writing |  Comments (3) |  Close comments |  Report a problem