The Aurora Prize for Writing 2019

The Winners

For Short Fiction

1st Place – Alice Haworth-Booth, Ears Now

2nd Place – Christina Eagles, Coping Stones

3rd Place – The Traps, Ella King

Regional Prize – Christina Eagles, Coping Stones

For Poetry

1st Place – Toby Campion, Oyster

2nd Place – Bernard Pearson, Manor Farm

3rd Place – Joshua Judson, Lock

Regional Prize – Joshua Judson, Lock

Huge congratulations to the shortlisted writers, who for 2019 are:

For Short Fiction

Ears Now – Alice Haworth-Booth

Holy Land – Cecil Fenn

Coping Stones – Christina Eagles

The Father, The Son – Elizabeth J. Woods

The Traps – Ella King

Small Things – Fraer Stevenson

Milk – Katherine Shingler

Roasting Feathers – Mo Ryan

Blue in the Condition of Blue – Ric Carter

The Haircut – Wendy Davey

For Poetry

Manor Farm – Bernard Pearson

Emily’s Ghost – Eleanor Punter

Slaughter of the Striped – Eveline Pye

Xenos – Gemma Bull

Lock  – Joshua Judson

Preservation – Jan Norton

Let’s Call it a Fruit – Maz Hedgehog

How to Keep Chaos at Bay – Pamela Butler

Salvage – Sharon Black

Oyster – Toby Campion

The Judges

The prize in 2019 was judged for fiction by

Booker Prize Nominee, Alison Moore.

And for poetry by

Seamus Heaney Centre Prize Nominee, Malika Booker.

The Prizes

The winners, in each category, received a cash prize of £500, feedback on a piece of work of their choice from a leading literary agent (or Editor as appropriate) and a year’s free membership to the Society of Authors, which included access to advice and resources on all aspects of the business of writing. Winners were also offered a session with Society of Authors staff including an introduction to how the Society can support them in their careers as professional authors and covering essential advice on copyright, payment terms and contracts.

Second Prize winners in both categories received £150.

Third Prize winners in both categories received a one-day course of their choice from Writing School East Midlands.

As a champion of writers from the East Midlands, we also offered a regional prize of £100 to the best work in each category from the region. 

The Society of Authors is the UK trade union for more than 10,500 writers, scriptwriters, illustrators and literary translators, at all stages of their careers. We’ve been advising individuals and speaking out for the profession since 1884. For more information and to sign up, visit https://www.societyofauthors.org/

Lincoln Book Festival runs from the 23rd to the 28th of September and is devoted to great history writing and historical fiction. For more information, visit https://www.lincolnbookfestival.org/