A record number of Writers’ Bursaries have been awarded by Literature Wales this year with 27 writers receiving a 2013/2014 award. The bursaries, which total £81,000, will allow the writers to take time out of employment to write, or enable some small-scale travel and research. As well as supporting new talent, bursaries have also been awarded to a number of established figures in the literary world. Fiction, poetry, children’s fiction, teenage fiction and creative non-fiction are all well-represented in the 2013 list. 22 of this year’s authors are first-time bursary recipients. Literature Wales’ Bursaries Panel is pleased to support new writing by writers who have not yet published a volume of their own work. Television and radio writer Rob Gittins (Pobol y Cwm, EastEnders, Casualty, The Bill) will turn his hand to fiction, and work on his first novel. Kate Hamer, winner of the 2011 Rhys Davies Short Story Competition, will concentrate on her novel for teenagers. Kate, who has been awarded a New Writer’s Bursary, commented: “Hearing about the Literature Wales award was wonderful news. It's not only enabling in a very practical sense but also feels like a massive confidence boost.” New Writers’ Bursaries have also been awarded to Laura Jayne Powell, Jemma L King, Elidir Jones, Rosalind Hudis, Angela Graham, Nicky Arscott and Carys Shannon. Four authors will concentrate on writing for children or teenagers: Jon Blake and Kate Hamer will work on brand new English fiction, while Myrddin ap Dafydd and Sian Melangell Dafydd will work on Welsh-language books. Poet Patrick Jones will use his Writer’s Bursary to work on a new sequence of poems aiming to capture a modern Wales; Clare E Potter will focus on her second collection, while new writers Richard James Jones and Lisa Parry will each concentrate on developing work for their respective first collections. English-language fiction in Wales will be particularly enriched, with Francesca Rhydderch, Simon Rees and Juliet Greenwood taking time out to work on their new novels. Enabling Bursaries for writers with disabilities have been awarded to three writers: Jeremy Hooker, Sara H Roberts and Meg Kingston. A Miscellaneous Fund Bursary will enable Jeremy Hughes to carry out research for his forthcoming novel, while Nicholas Murray will explore Borders. The Welsh-language Bursary recipients are: Elidir Jones, Myrddin ap Dafydd, Siân Melangell Dafydd, Delyth George, Rhys Iorwerth and Lowri Haf Cooke. Literature Wales Chief Executive Lleucu Siencyn said: “Supporting the writer in their career is fundamental to the work of Literature Wales. Since 2004 we have awarded over £900,000 in Writers’ Bursaries, enabling 224 writers to develop their work in a variety of genres. Notable successes such as Blacklands by Belinda Bauer show that the Literature Wales Bursaries scheme is also delivering award-winning books.” Katie Gramich, Chair of the Literature Wales Bursaries Panel commented: “We are all looking forward to reading the published works of those exceptional writers whom we have been able to support with a Literature Wales bursary this year. It is gratifying to note that previous recipients of Literature Wales Bursaries have gone on not only to publish acclaimed works but to win national prizes. One notable recent example was Gwyneth Lewis, who won the Crown at the National Eisteddfod of 2012 with a magnificent sequence of poems written during the period of time bought for her by a Literature Wales Bursary”. |
| Literature Wales web site: www.literaturewales.org |
| e-mail: post@literaturewales.org |
Thursday, March 14, 2013 |
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