2004 Creative Writing Competition Results
NAWG competition results showing winners, runners-up, highly commended and commended. The outright winners were announced at the Gala Dinner in September.
Category 1: Free Verse:
Winner: Sue Clennell, Hope Valley Writers, Power
Runners-up: Penelope Alexander, WG Writing Group, Margaret’s Children; Mike Cracknell, Writers Inc. Preston, The Mercenary; Shelagh Wain, Burton Monday Writers, Asphalt Dandelions.
Highly Commended: Rhubarb by Ruth Brown; Words by Robert Blaney; Home from The Sea by Rose Docherty.
Category 2: Formal Poem:
Winner: Jane P. Mann,
Associate Member, Deposed
Runners-up: Pennant Roberts, Dialstone Writers, Vanishing Birds; Maggie Spooner, Wilmslow Writers, Winter in Spring; Elizabeth Parish, Salford Women Writers, Leveller.
Highly Commended: Life’s Quilt by Diane Wilson; The Housekeeper, by Diane Impey; Figurine by Nick Brigham.
Category 3: Poem with
first and last line given:
Winner: Joan Condon, Associate
Member, Together
Runners-up: Tony Cloke, The Plough Arts Centre, Birth of a Villanelle; Liz Hickman, Hope Valley Writers, Farewell; Ghislane Goff, Associate Member, The Journey.
Highly Commended: Come Gentle Night by Adrienne Tinn; Cow and Calf, by Barbara Klempka; Dementia, by Gwenda Withnall.
Category 4: Song Lyric:
Winner: Elizabeth Parish, Salford
Women Writers, Song
Runners-up: Rita Ainsworth, Wyndham Writers, Au Secours; Hilary Adams, Keele Writers, Valentine; Laurie Clarke, Chobham Writers, Displaced.
Highly Recommended: Sweet Ninety Three by Barbara Holt.
Category 5: Monologue:
Winner: Derek Mark Pattison, Wear Valley Writers, Resurrection Woman
Runners-up: Vera O’Hagan, Associate Member, Would like to meet; Michael Facherty, Reading Writers, In the Race For Life; Jean Penn, Associate Member, The High Life.
Highly commended: Bingo by Astrid Hymers; Clean Living by Vivienne Telfer; The Interview by Kathleen Potter; Waiting for a Plane, by Richard Hallows; Pavlova by Maggie Spooner.
Category 6: Children’s
Short Story:
Winner: Maggie
Spooner, Wilmslow Writers, Dead Dog
Runners-up: Jean Penn, Associate Member, Belonging; Cathy Rushworth, Norwich Writers Circle, When You Dream; Sandra Beswetherick, WG Writers, Jeremy Makes a Mess of Things.
Highly Commended: The Coddy Wake by Aine Marie Chadwick; The Naughty Wind by John Malvert; The Wizard of Windy Wood by Beth Daniels.
Category 7: Themed Short
Story (Cover up):
Winner: J. G.
Grove Stephensen, Dunholme Writing Group, From The Corridor
Runners-up: Peter Rolls, Camberley Writers, Birds, Bees and Centipedes; Derek Norris, Associate Member, Cosmic Orphan; Janet King, Wilmslow Writers, Cover Up.
Highly Commended: Ice Maiden by Sheila Alcock; An Interesting Trip For Dr Oates By Dr E. J. Yeaman; We’ll meet again by Simon Whaley.
Commended: A Chance Encounter by R. D. Haywood; A Life Sentence by Susan Stokes; Escape Routes by Freda J. Stewart.
Category 8: Radio Play:
Winner: Stu Phillips, Kessingland
Writers, Baked Beans and Treacle Pudding.
Runners-up: Angela Laws, Lanchester Creative Writing, Skin; Pat Rowlands, Carmarthen Writers, Arrivederci Fecci’s; Jackie Smith, Torquay Writers, A Bite at the Apple.
Highly Recommended: The Gift by Liz Spear; Should You Put The Tea or Milk In First by Barbara Klempka.
Category 9: Novel:
Winner: Dorothy Webb, Wellingborough
Writers, Yesterday’s Tomorrows
Runners-up: Margaret Cronin, Chobham Writers, Skirting Round It; Diane Impey, Market Rasen Writers, To Heaven By Steam; Elizabeth Ives, Associate Member, Hell Hath No Fury.
Highly Commended: Ambushed by Paul Grainger; A Stranger To My Heart by Sheila Jackson.
Category 10: Group
Anthology:
Winners: Fosseway Writers with Midlands Medley
Runners-up: Richmond Writers with Circle Lines; Barrack Road Writers with The Alchemist’s Art; Hartlepool Writing Together, with Fireside Fables.
The Mini-Tale. This category is open only to those attending the Festival.
Winner: Dee Finney
Runners-up: Patricia Rawson, Margaret Raw and Mike Wilson.
A total of 355 members entered the competition, most in two categories, some in many more. We don’t appear to have pleased everybody, however, as one member wrote to Link to say that the categories were not well chosen, pointing out that four out of ten were poetry and a lot of people like herself didn’t write poetry. The writer didn’t say whether she realised that this meant six out of ten categories were not poetry. We would be in trouble if we stuck to the same categories every year and whichever we change we will upset someone. If we manage only one complaint we shouldn’t be too worried. However, we will be changing some categories again for next year and I hope for 100 percent member satisfaction. To those of you who are short listed: Congratulations. The NAWG competitions are not easily won. There is no charge so there is a large entry and the standard is high. To those who were not nominated this year, look out for the new categories for 2005 and try again. All the judges did us proud again. My thanks to them all. - Hilda Slater, Competition Organiser, NAWG.
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