Warwick Creative Writing alumna wins Manchester Poetry Prize
Rebecca Tamás who studied English and Creative Writing at the University of Warwick has been awarded the Manchester Poetry Prize at the Manchester Writing Competition 2016.
The winners of this year’s £10,000 Manchester Poetry and Fiction Prizes were revealed at a gala ceremony in the medieval Baronial Hall at Chetham's Library in Manchester city centre.
On receiving the prize Rebecca said:
“I am shocked and honoured to be one of the recipients of this prize, and to be part of a shortlist of brilliant and diverse poets. I don't doubt that my current success is in large part due to the opportunities provided to me as an undergraduate creative writer at Warwick, where professors such as David Morley and George Ttoouli encouraged me to pursue my writing, and gave me confidence at a crucial time to explore my passion for the odd and wonderful thing that is poetry.”
Poet Rebecca Tamás will share the £10,000 Manchester Poetry Prize with Dante Di Stefano. Also at the ceremony D. W. Wilson bagged the £10,000 Manchester Fiction Prize.
Rebecca studied The Practice of Poetry amongst other modules during her time studying English and Creative Writing as an undergraduate at the University of Warwick. She submitted five poems to the Manchester Writing Competition 2016: 'Julian of Norwich'; 'Theresa of Ãvila'; 'Hildegard of Bingen'; 'Simone Weil'; and 'Marguerite Porete'.
Her poems have been published in a variety of magazines and journals including The White Review, Poems in Which and The Suburban Review. She is currently studying for a PhD in Creative and Critical Writing at The University of East Anglia.
Professor David Morley, Director of the Warwick Writing Programme, taught Rebecca during her time at Warwick. On hearing the news he said:
‘Rebecca was a brilliant young poet at Warwick. She’s now a poet of real achievement in the world. I’m proud to see Rebecca joining a growing list of Warwick-trained writers and poets who are taking centre-stage in publishing, prize-winning and performance in the United Kingdom and beyond. She’s an inspiration to our current student-poets.’
The 2016 Fiction Prize was judged by Nicholas Royle, Janice Galloway and Juliet Pickering and the Poetry Prize by Adam O'Riordan, Sarah Howe and Helen Mort.
This exciting news caps an impressive year for writers at Warwick, with the University of Warwick named as a national 'centre for excellence' in the field of Creative Writing by the Sunday Times in the latest Good University Guide.
For more information visit:
Information for Editors:
Manchester Writing Competition
The Manchester Writing Competition was devised by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy and is run by her team in the Manchester Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University: www.mmu.ac.uk/writingschool. Presented in partnership with Manchester Literature Festival and sponsored by Macdonald Hotels and Resorts.
This year the University of Warwick was named a national 'centre for excellence' in the field of Creative Writing by the Sunday Times in the latest Good University Guide. Creative writing at Warwick is also number one for teaching in the UK (Times/THES) and number for research (REF2014). Approximately 500 UK and EU applicants apply every year, making Creative Writing at Warwick one of the most popular arts degree courses in Europe. The course also attracts many young writers from the Americas, China, Singapore, India and Africa.
Warwick Writing Programme
Warwick’s Creative Writing students win prizes in international writing competitions and are published in major journals. Seven students have won an Eric Gregory Award for a collection by poets under the age of 30 from The Society of Authors. Past winners of this award include Seamus Heaney, Ted Hughes and Jackie Kay. Last year, two graduates won the Costa Award for Poetry and The Carnegie Medal.
The University of Warwick is consistently ranked in the top 10 universities in the UK and top 100 in the world. It is one of the UK's leading universities, with an acknowledged reputation for excellence in research, teaching and innovation alongside pioneering links with business and industry.
Contact:
Alex Buxton: Media Relations Manager, University of Warwick
Tel: 02476 150423
Mob: 07876 218166
E: a.buxton.1@warwick.ac.uk