Southam Student Shortlisted for Prestigious Creative Writing Award
Southam College student Brittany Lowe has been shortlisted for the prestigious IGGY & Litro Young Writers’ Prize.
IGGY is the University of Warwick’s online educational and social network for gifted young people. The prize is open to IGGY Members aged 13-18 and is launched in collaboration with London’s Litro Magazine.
Members submitted short stories no longer than 2,500 words in length on this year's theme of Dream. IGGY has now announced the list of six shortlisted young writers, one of whom will receive a cash prize of £2,000 and see his or her story in print in Litro Magazine. The five runners up will also be awarded £200 each.
The judging panel included BBC Broadcaster and Writer John McCarthy CBE; creative writer and perhaps the UK's greatest teacher Francis Gilbert; writer and critic Ian Sansom; award-winning writer and performance poet Dean Atta and teenage writer Simi Prasad.
Local 15 year old student Brittany Lowe has been shortlisted for her story entitled The Wall. Brittany was born in the USA and now lives in the West Midlands, attending Southam College in Warwickshire which is one of IGGY’s pilot schools.
Brittany says:
“I am so honoured to have been shortlisted for the IGGY Litro award! Writing means everything to me and I am so proud of myself for achieving this. It has given me the urge to continue to pursue my dreams in writing and has given me a huge confidence boost.”
Sam Tarling, Head of Year 11 at Southam College, says:
“I have personally been involved with IGGY from September 2009, and I knew that IGGY was something I wanted to bring in to my school environment. Southam College was one of the first pilot schools for IGGY in Warwickshire, and many of our bright young students were signed up to IGGY. I am so proud that one of my very own students, Brittany Lowe, has had a fantastic success in being shortlisted for the IGGY and Litro Young Writers’ Prize! What a fantastic accomplishment for a student and a real honour to have been shortlisted. To us, Brittany is already a winner.”
The other five shortlisted writers are aged between 14 and 17 and hailing from countries including South Africa, Pakistan and Palestine, as well as from the UK. The winner of the 2013 IGGY & Litro Young Writers’ Prize will be announced on IGGY.net on 4th December 2013.
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About IGGY
IGGY is a key part of the University of Warwick’s efforts to reach gifted students across the world. In 2012, the University launched IGGY.net; a global online community of gifted young people giving members aged 13-18 access to interactive educational resources and allowing them to work with top academics, student mentors and other gifted young people from around the world. IGGY offers young people a platform to exchange ideas, debate, learn and explore in a safe environment. The site focuses on providing stretching content in core subjects of Maths, English, Science, History, Politics and Life Skills but also covers a wide range of other subjects.
For More Information:
Jan McQuillan, Digital Marketing ManagerBy email: j.mcquillan@warwick.ac.uk
By phone: +44 (0) 2476 151 860