Natalie Ann Holborow wins the Robin Reeves Prize for Young Writers 2015

A Swansea writer has become the second person to be awarded the Robin Reeves Prize for Young Writers by the Welsh Writers’ Trust

24-year-old Natalie Ann Holborow will be presented with her £500 prize on Sunday 13 December 2015 at an awards ceremony at Chapter, Cardiff’s iconic arts centre. Runners-up Eve Elizabeth Moriarty and Mari Ellis Dunning will receive £100 and £50 respectively.

The entries were judged by the award-winning author Rachel Trezise (Cosmic Latte, Parthian), who said of Natalie’s work: “In the winning story ‘The Bees’, voice thunders out like a force of nature. And while ‘voice’ may sound like a tremendously basic facet, we must remember how difficult voice is to master as a young writer… here is an anthology full of 17–24 year old’s work categorically bursting with it.”

Natalie said: “Winning the Robin Reeves Prize was both a surprise and an honour. I find it so exciting that there’s so much support like this for young writers in Wales – the Welsh literary scene has such a range of unique voices and competitions like this give us that valued opportunity.”

 

The prize is in memory of Robin Reeves, editor of New Welsh Review for a decade and a passionate advocate of developing Wales’s identity both culturally and politically. Young writers were invited to submit on the theme ‘Out of the Ashes – Overcoming Adversity’.

The anthology, How to Exit a Burning Building, is published by Parthian. All are welcome at the free event at Chapter on Sunday 13 December 2015 at 2 pm where Natalie and other featured authors will give readings.

Signed copies of the book will be available, hot off the press. The event is part of Parthian’s Festive Book Fair which takes place in Chapter across the weekend. Or you can buy direct from the Parthian online bookshop and all good stores on and offline.

About the Welsh Writers’ Trust:

The WWT was formed in 1986 to support and encourage English writing in Wales. In this time the Trust has helped nurture both new and well-established creative writing talent and has helped many of the current stalwarts of the Welsh literary scene on their way to success. For more information please visit: https://welshwriterstrust.wordpress.com

About The Winner:

Natalie Ann Holborow is an MA graduate in Creative Writing at Swansea University and is currently writer-in-residence at the Dylan Thomas birthplace. By day, she works with words as an Instructional Designer, and by night she is compere of Mad As Birds, a monthly spoken word and music open mic in her lovely, ugly town. She is the winner of the Terry Hetherington Award 2015 and has been highly commended for various others including the Bridport Prize, Hippocrates Prize, Jane Martin Poetry Prize and was longlisted for the National Poetry Prize 2015. She has recently been published in The Stinging Fly and New Welsh Review. She would love to see her debut poetry collection edited, the first draft of her novel written, and to see the Swans move up in the league table by 2017. She is 24 now and was 23 years old when she entered the competition.