We were delighted to announce the names of the four winners of our Writers in Residence award for 2018 at Gladfest last Friday.
Now into its seventh year, the successful Writers in Residence programme was established in association with Damian Barr (saloniere and author of Maggie and Me) to explore and define liberal values in the twenty-first century.
This year’s judging panel consisted of Senior Strategy Director at FutureBrand and Trustee of Gladstone’s Library, Freddie Baveystock; poet Rebecca Farmer (Not Really); author Natasha Pulley (The Watchmaker of Filigree Street); literary agent Jenny Hewson (Rogers, Coleridge and White); Peter Francis, Warden of Gladstone’s Library and Director of Collections and Research at Gladstone’s Library, Louisa Yates.
This year’s shortlist was drawn from a pool of entries from around the world. To qualify for consideration, all applicants had to submit a book published in the last three years as well as a short piece of writing on liberal values. The strength of both was taken into consideration by the judges when choosing the winners.
The four winners of the 2018 Writers in Residence award at Gladstone’s Library are:
- Polly Atkin, Basic Nest Architecture (Seren, 2017)
- Rachel Malik, Miss Boston and Miss Hargreaves (Penguin Random House, 2017)
- Cal Flyn, Thicker Than Water (Harper Collins, 2016)
- Keggie Carew, Dadland (Vintage, 2016)
The authors will each receive a month’s residency at Gladstone’s Library, with the chance to use the Library’s tranquillity and resources to work on their current project. During this time, the authors will engage with the library’s creative community, running a creative writing masterclass, giving an evening talk, and submitting a blog to the Library’s website.
Warden of Gladstone’s Library, Peter Francis, said:
'The Gladstone’s Library Writer in Residence programme continues to go from strength to strength. This is thanks, in part, to the support and generosity of our sponsors, in particular that of Joanna Munro, but also to the continual high standard of applicants. We are hugely proud that the programme continues to attract the very best in contemporary creative writing.’
The 2018 Writers in Residence programme is officially launched on Monday, 9th October at the National Liberal Club in London when each of the winning writers will be invited to read from their work. Tickets for this popular event are priced at £15 and can be booked by calling 01244 532350 or emailing [email protected].
Please note, the dress code for this event is smart – jacket and tie for men and no t-shirts or vests for women. No jeans will be permitted.