Gladstone’s Library has announced the names of the four winners of its Writers in Residence award and the two recipients of its Political Writer in Residence award for 2017.
Now into its sixth 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 21st century. This year’s judging panel consisted of Senior Strategy Director at FutureBrand and Trustee of Gladstone’s Library Freddie Baveystock; writer and journalist Peter Moore; author and journalist Melissa Harrison; poet Judy Brown; Peter Francis, Warden of Gladstone’s Library and Director of Collections and Research at Gladstone’s Library, Louisa Yates.
This year’s submissions to the programme were 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 2017 Writers in Residence award at Gladstone’s Library are:
- William Atkins, The Moor: A Journey into the English Wilderness
- Rowan Hisayo Buchanan, Harmless Like You
- Ruth Scurr, John Aubrey: My Own Life
- Penny Boxall, ‘Ship of the Line’
The two winners of the 2017 Political Writer in Residence award are:
- James Kirchick, The End of Europe: Dictators, Demagogues and the Coming Dark Age
- Caroline Shenton, The Day Parliament Burned Down
These authors all receive a month’s residency at Gladstone’s Library, a creative community that is open to the public and based in the world’s only residential library. During this time, the authors will each run a creative writing masterclass, give an evening talk, submit two blogs to the Library website, and use the tranquillity and resources of the Library to work on their current project. They are also all awarded a small honorarium.
Warden of Gladstone’s Library, Peter Francis, commented:
‘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 2017 Writers in Residence programme is officially launched on Monday, 3rd 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 £10 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.