ISCRE LITERARY PRIZE: ENTRIES EXCEED EXPECTATIONS, LEADING AUTHOR HEADS JUDGING PANEL

The organisers of a new Suffolk literary prize on the themes of migration and multiculturalism have expressed delight at both the number of entries received for the first year of the competition and news that leading author Blake Morrison has agreed to be on the judging panel.

The One County, Many Voices literary prize was launched by the Ipswich & Suffolk Council for Racial Equality (ISCRE) last year and is sponsored by local charity JIMAS to capture accounts of diversity and the challenges and benefits of migration. 

The literary prize comprises two categories: for those aged 11-18 and those aged 18 and over with any written formats - including historical research, autobiography, prose, fiction and poetry – accepted.

37 entries have been received – in both English and other languages - and these are being carefully whittled down to a short list of six.

The six will be evaluated by the newly announced judging panel of author Blake Morrison, EADT Arts Editor Andrew Clarke and Manwar Ali, Chief Executive of JIMAS.

Darsham-based Blake Morrison is a leading poet, playwright and author. His output includes The Last Weekend (set in Suffolk), South of the River and the autobiographicalAnd When Did You Last See Your Father? which was made into a film starring Colin Firth, Jim Broadbent and Juliet Stevenson.

According to Blake “this prize addresses one of the most important issues in our society today, and I'm really looking forward to reading the entries”.

The awards ceremony for the winners will be hosted by University Campus Suffolk (UCS) on March 28 from 4 to 5pm, followed by refreshments and a chance to hear Blake Morrison’s UCS Academy Lecture on ‘The future of reading’ starting at 6pm on March 28 2012.

Read more >>