Poetry - Edwin Morgan Poetry Award

The winner of the biennial Edwin Morgan Poetry Award for Scottish poets aged 30 or under, administered by the Scottish Poetry Library, was announced at the Edinburgh International Book Festival yesterday...

The winner is Penny Boxall for her first collection Ship of the Line, published by Eyewear. Boxall was born in 1987 and grew up in Aberdeenshire and Yorkshire. In 2014 she was commended in the Forward Prize and her poetry has appeared in the Sunday Times, The Rialto and Mslexia. She was presented with the award of £20,000 by the Edinburgh Makar Christine De Luca at an event at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

The judges of the Award were National Poet for Scotland Jackie Kay and former Edinburgh Makar Stewart Conn. Kay commented on Boxall’s poems: “Penny Boxall runs a tight ship. Her poems are beautifully crafted. Reading her is to go on an interesting journey of exploration—stopping at fascinating places along the way. She has a curator’s mind and is always putting one thing beside another in an unexpected way.”

The runner-up is Miriam Nash for her collection All the Prayers in the House, which will be published by Bloodaxe in 2017. She was born in Inverness and spent her early years on the west coast island of Erraid. In 2016 she was Writer in Residence at Greenway, Agatha Christie’s holiday home. She receives £2,500.

Stewart Conn said that, ‘Miriam Nash’s poems provide pleasure through the variety and veracity of their subject matter, her insight and freshness of approach, and the warmth she breathes into them.’

The other short-listed poets, who each receive £1,000, are: Claire Askew, Sophie Collins, Harry Giles and Stewart Sanderson.

Professor James McGonigal, Chair of the Edwin Morgan Trust, said: ‘We are delighted by the keen response to the 2016 Award. The Award is central to our work, and it is a real pleasure to be able to offer young poets of this calibre the chance to develop in new directions. This was Morgan’s vision in funding the Award, and his lasting gift to new generations of poets.’

Image - Edinburgh Book Festival