Entries will be published in this year’s collection ‘In a Parallel Universe and other voices’ launched on 25 February at a public event at the Free Word Centre in central London. Writer Meg Rosoff, this year’s judge, said:
Within this body of work, I heard some amazing voices. Your voices. They were humorous, thoughtful, intelligent, wise, angry, sad and passionate.
This was a bumper year with over 500 entries from 80 prisons stretching from Scotland to London and France so there are more winners than normal as you can see from the list below. A big THANK YOU to all who entered – we could not have done this without you. The collection will be available from the English PEN website after 25 February and all winners will receive two copies, as will the libraries who took part.
Poetry
WINNER: ‘Kitchen School’ and ‘In a Parallel Universe’ – Gareth Kerr, HMP Shotts
RUNNERS UP: ‘Wall of Firsts’ – R. W. Beardsley, HMP Ryehill; ‘Life’s Lessons Ain’t Taught’ – Anonymous, Brook House IRC; ‘The Winding Road’ – Brian Hannah, HMP Low Moss; ‘The Last Breath’ – Anonymous, HMP Frankland; ‘Flowers’ – Shahzad Javed, HMP Low Moss; ‘Tipple’ – Anonymous, HMP Shotts; ‘Hinterland Detour’ – Graham Gardner, HMP Frankland; ‘Ambition’ – Don-Carlos Ellis, HMP Longlartin; ‘Going Home’ – Bob Beck, HMP Grendon; ‘The Deceiving Countryside’ – Anonymous, HMP Shotts; ‘In Praise of Wharfedales’ – Tony Joyce, HMP Parkhurst
Book review
WINNER: ‘The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists by Robert Tressell’ – Paul Prendergast, HMP Swaleside
RUNNERS UP: ‘Roots by Alex Haley’ – Lennox Watson, HMP Thameside; ‘Let The Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist’ – Andrew Craigie, HMP Frankland; ‘For Those I Loved by Martin Gray’ – Ian Holden, HMP Usk; ‘The Strange Voyage of Donald Crowhurst by N. Tomalin and R. Hall’ – Gordon Chorlton, HMP Guernsey
Fiction/Memoir
WINNER: ‘A Face in the Clouds’ – Mark Banner, HMP Stafford
RUNNER UP: ‘The Find’ – Anonymous, HMP Full Sutton; ‘A Fantastic Journey’ – Sean Meier, HMP Stafford; ‘A Letter To Myself’ – Oisin Hendrickse, HMP Wormwood Scrubs; ‘The Road Ahead’ – James Henry, HMP Onley; ‘My House On The Hill’ – Patrick Regan, HMP Bullingdon; ‘Chance Encounter on a Sunday Afternoon’ – Steven Munn, HMP Bure; ‘Anything Could Happen’ – Lee Gilmour, HMP Kilmarnock; ‘Beginning’ – Anonymous, HMP Parc; ‘Anything Could Happen’ – Jon Webb, HMP North Sea Camp
Flash fiction
WINNER: ‘A Letter to Myself’ – Steven Millward, HMP Guys Marsh
Highly Commended
(Poem/Short Story) ‘Well, I Never!’ – Craig Topping, HMP Ranby; (Poem) ‘My Spiritual Home’ – Anonymous, HMP Glenochil; (Book Review) ‘The Diving Bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby’ – Anonymous, HMP Shotts; (Poem) ‘Chances’ – Alexander Holden, HMP Usk; (Poem) ‘Mug’s Game’ – Gareth Cooke, HMP Parc; (Poem/ Flash Fiction) ‘ My Life in 100 Words’ – Anomyous, HMP Shotts; (Poem) ‘Ahm Bad’ – Anonymous, HMP Shotts; (Book Review) ‘Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer’ – Anonymous, HMP Parc