THE winners of this year’s Bridport Prize will meet the judges and collect their prize money at Bridport Arts Centre on Sunday.

They will attend the traditional lunch and awards ceremony after being named as winners.

Poetry judge Gwyneth Lewis awarded Claudia Daventry, from St Andrew’s, Scotland, the first prize of £5,000 for her poem Alakazam.

Patrick Gale chose Being David by Helen Barton, from Worcester, for the £5,000 first prize in the short story category.

Gregory Jackson, of London, won the Flash Fiction category.

Ruth Figgest, from Seaford, East Sussex, came second in the short story section and Lizzy Welby, of London, came third.

Nick MacKinnon, from Winches-ter, came second in the main Bridport Prize section and Nikki Zielinski, of Ohio, USA, came third.

Highly commended prizes for poetry were won by Daisy Behagg, Charles Bennett, Alan Buckley, Emma-Jane Hughes, Kim Lasky, Hannah Lowe, Andrew Martin, Amali Rodrigo and Mary Woodward.

Highly commended prizes for short story were won by Darci Bysouth, Peter Caley, Eva Ciabattoni, Ruby Cowling, David Foll, Sophie Green, Sandra Jensen, Martelle McPartland, Mel Murphy and Naomi J Williams.

Highly commended prizes for flash fiction were won by Peter Howe, Sophie Mackintosh and Sarah Taylor.

The judges for the Bridport Prize 2013 – its 40th anniversary year – have been announced as Wendy Cope, Michèle Robert and David Swann.

Entry forms are available in December by sending a stamp and self addressed envelope to The Bridport Prize, PO Box 6910, Bridport DT6 9BQ or by visiting bridportprize.org.uk.

 

Elaine honoured for poetry

A BRIDPORT writer has won the £100 Dorset Award for the highest placed local writer of the 2012 Bridport Prize.

The award, sponsored by The Book Shop in South Street, was won by poet Elaine Beckett for her poem For Roy.

A musician by profession, Elaine, pictured, said she felt both honoured and humbled.

She said: “I just felt extremely honoured and amazed and really touched and very pleased about it.

“Obviously it is a very prestigious award and I feel very humble that this 15 line thing has risen to the top.

“I have only been doing this seriously for three and a half years and I am working towards a first collection.

“It is quite difficult to find a publisher, but this will definitely help.”