There was plenty to celebrate at this year’s Imprint Writing Awards presentation event at the Dick Institute in Kilmarnock.
Four members of Ayr Writers’ Club had five of the twelve short-listed entries in the 2019 competition – Greta Yorke for Poem. Maggie Bolton, Kirsty Hammond, Jeanette Driver for Story and Kirsty Hammond for Letter – with Kirsty going on to take first place in the Story category and second place in the Other category.
This annual competition to celebrate writing talent in Ayrshire is hosted by East Ayrshire Leisure and is an anticipated calendar highlight for local writers. And this year, with the addition of brand new categories, writers were free to express themselves in the format that they felt most inspired by – Story (fiction or nonfiction), Poem, Play, Comic Strip or Letter.
Imprint Patron, Zoe Strachan, alongside the judging panel from from the University of Glasgow’s Edwin Morgan School of Creative Writing, praised the quality and diversity of all the entries this year.
On the night itself, Imprint short-listers were invited to the stage to read out a five minute extract from their work. There was such a variety of styles and themes from all the finalists, a really good representation of the different ways to write.
Ayr Writers’ Club meets at the Mercure Ayr Hotel on Wednesdays, from 7.30-9.00pm. Visitors and new members are always welcome, any week. For the full programme of upcoming events please visit www.ayrwritersclub.co.uk
(Ayr Advertiser, 10/12/19)