Wigtown Poetry Prize Shortlist Revealed

Wigtown Poetry Prize Shortlist Revealed

• International awards celebrate Scotland’s three Indigenous languages
• Winners to be unveiled at special Wigtown Book Festival event

The shortlist has been unveiled for the annual Wigtown Poetry Prize – with 25 entries now in the running for the five different awards.

Each year Scotland’s annual award for poetry in the country’s three Indigenous languages attracts entries from around the world – nurturing poetry and providing a showcase for poets.

Nicholas Walker, Wigtown Poetry Prize Group Chair, said: “The prize has earned a worldwide reputation for the quality of entries and for championing poetry in each of the country’s Indigenous languages.

“This year’s awards further underline the point, with entries coming from as far afield as Finland, Israel, Japan and New Zealand.

“We are also pleased to be nurturing talent from within our own region through the Dumfries & Galloway Fresh Voices Award.

“Just making it onto the shortlist is a tremendous achievement from the hundreds of entries we received, and I would like to congratulate every one of the people who has reached this stage.

“We are now looking forward to the judges' final decisions, and being able to announce the winners at a special event during this month’s Wigtown Book Festival.”

There are five elements to the Wigtown Poetry Prize: 

The Wigtown Prize. Open to work in English, Scots or Scottish Gaelic. The winner receives £1,500 and the runner-up £200.

The Wigtown Scots Prize. £500, runner-up £200 (supported by the Saltire Society).

The Wigtown Gaidhlig Prize. £500, runner-up £200 (supported by Comhairle nan Leabhraichean / The Gaelic Books Council).

Dumfries & Galloway Fresh Voices Award. For poets living in, or from, Dumfries and Galloway who have never professionally published a full-length collection. The prize is a package of professional support including mentoring by Wigtown Festival Company and a retreat hosted by Moniack Mhor Writers' Centre.

Alastair Reid Pamphlet Prize. Named in memory of one of Scotland’s foremost literary talents, which recognises a collection of work rather than individual poems. The prize for the work to be set as a pamphlet by Gerry Cambridge and published by the Wigtown Festival Company.

Donald S Murray, who is judging The Wigtown Prize and the Alastair Reid Pamphlet Prize, said: “Among the hundreds of poems I came across while judging this competition, there were a countless number that impressed me.

“Some were playful and amusing, full of fun and laughter; others touching and moving, dealing with grief and loss. Some were inspirational in their sheer simplicity; others more complex and deserving of great thought and exploration.

“The most difficult task was narrowing the range down to a shortlist. There were many - in Gaelic, English and Scots - that deserved to be included. This was especially true among the contenders for the Alasdair Reid Pamphlet Prize. I relished and enjoyed much of the work I encountered while going through the pages of these varied and powerful collections.

“I have no doubt, however, of the quality of the verse that is shortlisted.

“Their words sparkled and shone, entering both my vision and understanding each time I experienced the strength of their imagery and language. Each one is a wonder of sorts. I feel blessed in being given the chance to explore them.”

The winners will be announced at a special event in the County Buildings, Wigtown, hosted by Hugh McMillan as part of the Wigtown Book Festival on Friday, 29 September at 7.30 pm.

The Shortlist

Wigtown Prize

A Journey to the Interior of the Earth Gillian Dawson

My Aunt Betty Robert Duncan

Lilias Stephanie Green

April Lambing Anita John

Winter Solstice Rachel Rankin

My Mother Unwraps My Gift of Frida Kahlo’s Me and My Parrots John Wheway

Wigtown Scots Prize

Juist Craig Aitchison

Junkie Lust Helen Cross

The Auld Words Fiona Frank

Peer Breiths Keeks Mc

Wigtown Scottish Gaelic Prize

Mapaichean Seonaidh Charity

Ainneamhag Gheal Marcas Mac an Tuairneir

An Geama Mairi MacLeod

An Dealbh as Fhearr do dh'Astràilia Marion F Morrison

Thus' air mo chuimhne Tia Thomson

Alastair Reid Pamphlet Prize

Ensō Jill Abram

Some Things I Do Not Know Arthur Allen

Exile Anjali Suzanne Angel

Ortelius’s Sea Monsters Stephanie Green

Hunter's Moon Steve May

extracts from a haibun-style poem cycle Jane McBeth

You Ask Why I Seldom Write About Men Sarah Stewart

Dumfries and Galloway Fresh Voice Award

Sunshine Against Shadow Robin Leiper

That Day Jane McBeth

One Moonless Night Diane Schofield.

The 2023 Judges

Wigtown Poetry Prize and Alastair Reid Pamphlet Prize - Donald S Murray (author and poet)

Scots prize - Lennie Pennie (Scots language poet)

Gaidhlig prize - Rody Gorman (renowned for his Scottish Gaelic poetry)

Fresh Voices Award - Susi Briggs (author, poet, storyteller and musician).