David Laws

David has been a national newspaper journalist in London and Manchester after working as a reporter on local weeklies and as a writer and editor for magazines dealing with film, medicine, travel and finance. He’s fascinated by the great thriller writers of our time; names like Robert Harris, Robert Goddard, Henry Porter, Philip Kerr, Ken Follett and Jack Higgins (and he very much hopes to be able to follow in their distinguished footsteps). He was inspired to write The Maze Kids after researching the Kindertransport rescue mission set up by the late Sir Nicholas Winton.

He has previously published two thrillers through the Matador self-publishing service: Munich, The Man Who Said No! (about a woman’s search for her missing grandfather) and Exit Day (a spy story set against the background of the Brexit controversy). David had great fun promoting these in bookshops in his local area of East Anglia and in e-books through his web site but would very much like to be traditionally published.

(NB The Maze Kids has not been published anywhere, as per the rules.)

He is delighted to be attending the Yeovil Literary Prize Past Winners’ event as part of the Yeovil Literary Festival on 1st November

Our judge, Vaseem Khan, commented ““I loved the concept of this novel. The idea of a band of dispossessed children hiding out in Nazi Germany, in danger of discovery and (one assumes) of being shot, imprisoned or sent to the concentration camps, and the daring rescue attempt to save them. This is a book that works on many levels: as a thriller, an old-fashioned adventure yarn, a wartime escape story, a historical account, and a romance. The plot involves multiple narrative strands, woven together with a sense of excitement, yet simultaneously underscored by a sense of dread at the plight of the children.

The lead protagonists, Peter and Claudia quickly gained my empathy and interest. With such characters it is always a question of what motivates them to place their own lives at risk to help others. This central question speaks to our own humanity and in that sense this novel is very much a tale of good versus evil. It grabbed me by the throat from its opening pages and drew me in. I particularly liked the way the narrative moves between Claudia and Peter, both reluctant heroes. As a reader I sense that their fates are ultimately entwined, but watching that journey unfold, two strangers, ostensibly at odds (he is an English ‘spy’, she a German national) finding common purpose through an unspoken moral code that exists within each, is a wonderful literary device powering the heart of this story.

There is always a danger for a debut author in setting a story in such well-trodden territory, but this is a well-structured narrative and an engaging plot that offers something to a wide range of readers – for me this book could work for both adult and young adult audiences.

This is a novel that should certainly find a publisher, if it hasn’t already done so. Interest in fiction set during Nazi Germany has risen again following the worldwide success of The Tatooist of Auschwitz. Just as that was a story of the best of humanity triumphing over the worst, this too is a tale that appears to offer hope in the darkest of times.”

Rue Baldry

Rue Baldry was born in Essex in 1969 and now lives in York. She has a BA in English Lit from York University and an MA in Creative Writing from Leeds University. Ten of her short stories have been published or are forthcoming, including in Mslexia, The Honest Ulsterman, The Incubator, The Nottingham Review, Postbox and The First Line. In 2015 she was awarded a Jerwood/Arvon mentorship and in 2017 she won the The Bridge/Moniack Mhor Emerging Writer Prize.

Our judge, Vaseem Khan, commented ““This is a beautifully rendered opening to a novel that sets out its stall to deliver an emotionally powerful, spare, impactful narrative. The story of Albert and Edgar, two men who have managed to hold fast to their love for one another over a vast span of time, in spite of myriad hurdles, is one that will resonate with readers who enjoy challenging, well-crafted literature. There are moments of intense emotional drama during this journey; even in these early chapters we see such instances exploding from the page, such as when Albert refuses to cane a young man in the school that he has been employed at, choosing instead to snap the cane in two in front of an astonished tutor.

The quality of the writing is first-rate; there are some wonderful turns of phrase, and the author impressed me with their ability to hold back. There is little exposition or over-description. Instead we have a narrative that moves along swiftly and quickly begins to grip.

What elevates this from the ordinary is the outstanding flashbacks of the war. Here the author really finds their feet. These short sequences rattle like gunfire and depict the ghastly brutality of that conflict.

The characters of Albert (in particular) and Edgar are well drawn. I instantly achieved empathy with Albert as his understanding of his own traumatic experiences filtered through to me via the flashback sequences. One of the key themes of this book is youth and the ability of circumstances and our own moral righteousness to corrupt it. Albert embodies this perfectly.

This is at once an understated romantic tale, a historical narrative, a social critique and a war polemic. Balancing all these elements is a difficult feat but I believe the author has managed it. Good modern writing should challenge the reader and that is precisely what this story does. I believe that in the hands of the right editor at a receptive publishing house this novel would find its own audience.”

Chloe Turner

Chloe Turner’s short fiction has appeared in journals and anthologies, including Best British Short Stories 2018, and her first collection, Witches Sail in Eggshells, was recently published by Reflex Press. Her novel Blue Hawk was inspired by the 17th century industrial landscape around her home near Stroud, Gloucestershire. Chloe is represented by Angel Belsey of the Emily Sweet Agency and is now readying Blue Hawk for submission to publishers. You can find her on Twitter @turnerpen2paper.

Our judge, Vaseem Khan, commented ““This is a quietly assured piece of historical fiction. The quality of the work crept up on me as I found myself slowly immersed in a world brought wonderfully to life by the author. It is a world set in the 1600s, recreated with an excellent eye for detail. The author has clearly researched their material but has managed to avoid the pitfall of ‘dumping’ the information into the work. Instead, the historical detail is woven into the narrative with a deft hand. The plot itself is a slow burning human drama that focuses on individual characters and their motivations. Joan, the central protagonist, the daughter of an indigent weaver, is a character who would not appear out of place in modern literary fiction – an intelligent and able woman fighting to establish her right to dictate the terms of her own existence against a prevailing culture of misogyny and male chauvinism. The plot of the novel hits a number of tried-and-tested emotional touchstones, such as sibling rivalry, adolescent infatuation, failure, tragedy and redemption. The writing itself is good. I was particularly entranced by the author’s use of (textile) colours almost as charms - the author’s passion for the subject came through in those moments. I found this an accomplished read and worthy of merit, a work that left me better informed and quietly intrigued. “

Christine Goodwin

Christine Goodwin lives with her husband in Bournemouth. They have three married sons. During her teaching career she endeavoured to inspire a love of English Literature, Language and Drama in young people. In addition, as a pastoral councillor in schools, she liaised with families and the Social, Medical and Police Services. When she retired, she gained her Equity Card and enjoyed working as a supporting artist on films and television. She was also a reader and editor for the Bournemouth and Wessex Talking Newspaper for the Blind. Christine belongs to a writers’ group. She has recently completed a correspondence Course with Writing Magazine encouraging her to find the courage to enter her own stories into competitions. She hopes one day to complete a novel! She is interested in writing about the complexities of human relationships. She loves reading, stage and television dramas, family gatherings and people-watching!

Our judge, Laura Williams, commented “This unravels the way that all short stories do – an amazing twist slowly revealed, leaving us wanting more but perfectly self-contained at the same time. A really wonderful concept, brilliantly executed.”

Mildred Davidson

Mildred has been a teacher of English Language and Literature at various levels in schools and colleges and on degree courses. Several years ago, she had some children’s stories published, but she didn’t continue in that direction. Instead, she has built up a portfolio of adult stories which every now and then she submits hopefully to competitions.

Our judge, Laura Williams, commented “This seemingly innocuous story had me absolutely gripped. This story will stay with me for a long time.”

Clare Reddaway

Clare Reddaway writes short stories and plays. She is interested in blurring the line between written fiction and performance – she enjoys taking words off the page into the ear. She has performed her short stories at events and festivals throughout south-west where she lives, and she runs a regular live-literature event in Bath, called Story Fridays. Her short stories have been published in anthologies, in magazines, in print and on the web, and have won and been shortlisted for quite a few national competitions. She is currently working on putting together her first collection of short stories. Her plays have been performed throughout the UK, including a run at the Edinburgh Festival, and a number of productions in London as well as her home town Bath. Read more at www.clarereddaway.co.uk.

Our judge, Laura Williams, commented This unusual setting and time period is wonderfully realised and had me tearing up at the end.”

Caroline Gilfillan

Caroline wrote: - “I am absolutely delighted - bowled over, and so appreciative of the judge's comments. I'm glad Philip Gross saw the tenderness as well as the spiky bits in the poem.”

Caroline Gilfillan has published four poetry collections. Yes won the East Anglian Book Award for the best poetry collection. She won the Suffolk Poetry Society prize in 2015 and 2012. She also writes fiction, and her first novel, The Terrace, was published in 2018. www.carolinegilfillan.co.uk

Our judge, Philip Gross, commented: I don’t believe that strong emotions or a hard life-story, on their own, make poetry; what makes it is the struggle for these ‘left-behind’ mis-fitting feelings to be heard, held, reconciled. Consider Caroline’s Origins, which takes First Prize. This poem is so many things – colloquial and imagistic, private and public, snappy and sad and tough and ultimately – most startling – tender. All of this could fly apart in discord, but fine judgement in the language, in the shifts of rhythm and the pauses over line breaks, holds it – holds it not just together but makes it a gift to be shared. “

Ann Leahy

Ann Leahy’s first collection, ‘The Woman who Lived her Life Backwards’ (Arlen House, 2008), won the Patrick Kavanagh Award. Most recently, news poems have been placed in Troubadour International Prize 2018 and shortlisted for another (Shirley McClure Prize, Los Gatos Arts & Writers’ festival, California). Individual poems have twice been commended in the British National Poetry Competition and have also won or been placed in other competitions.

Poems have been widely published in Irish and British journals (including The North, Poetry Ireland Review, Stand, AGENDA, Orbis, New Welsh Review, Cyphers) and have been included in several anthologies.

She used to work as a lawyer but now works as a policy analyst and researcher. She recently returned to writing poetry after taken a break from it while completing a PhD on ageing and disability. She grew up in Co. Tipperary in Ireland and lives in Dublin.

Our judge, Philip Gross commented: - “Ann’s wryly-titled In the Maternity Wing, our Second Prize, also finds gentleness in an unexpected place. This is a small step into the past, to a time ‘when women’s labour was out of bounds for men’. In stanzas gently contained by assonance as much as rhyme, it tells an atmospheric story, one you can see, touch, hear and smell, releasing implications about masculinity and femininity that are complex – hopeful, largely, but subtly nuanced too. “

Aripi Menken

Aripi writes screen and stage plays, novels, and also children's stories (which no real child would be remotely interested in) - but she loves the challenges of the sonnet form.

Our judge, Philip Gross commented “Deciding a Third Prize was a job I did not want to do. I could imagine any of the Highly Commended poems, in their utter differences of subject and style, edging into this slot. In the end, I couldn’t take my eyes off Aripi’s Visiting Broadmoor Hospital. I’ve no idea if this is autobiographical, and that isn’t the point. It rings true. What grips me is the way the shockingly tight sonnet form wrestles an emotion almost too complex and naked for words. It holds it... just, as the characters are held in their tightly controlled situation. If you find some line breaks jarring, well, look at the words they expose. Sometimes the jolts and jerks are where a poem speaks.”

Lucy Bignall

Lucy Bignall was born in Zambia and grew up in Africa and Saudi Arabia, before moving to London to study at the Royal College of Music. She then emigrated to Australia where she lived with her husband and children for fifteen years, working as a freelance violinist and teacher. In 2015 the family returned to live in a hairy house in Buckinghamshire, where Lucy teaches, performs, runs choirs and writes. She has had stories published in UnSung Stories, Writer's forum Magazine and Litro Online and has won the Henshaw Press Prize, the Global Short story competition and the Writer's Forum Competition as well as being shortlisted for many others, including the Fish Memoir prize.

Our judge Chris Redmond commented: - 'I would like to take your hand and lead you through the suks'

“I was struck by the imagery and intimacy first, like I was allowed in to both a sensuous relationship between two people - one present, one distant - and with a place - the dusty, incense-filled, colourful markets of an un-named Arab world. It uses dense imagery and is a wonderful evocation of sense memory. I was wary of it being too sentimental at first and hoped that it was more than just a well-crafted orientalism, which it teetered on once or twice. So, when paradoxes were introduced and the beauty and richness were countered by suggestions of bad smells, slave/child labour and distrust, I leaned in. Even though the device used for the final twist is a well-worn one, I didn't see it coming. This piece is a warm and candid exploration of aging, relationship to self and memory. It left me with questions about the many versions of ourselves that jostle for position and the lenses with which we choose to view the world. It is for this complexity presented simply and sensitively that I feel it deserves first prize. “

Vanessa Lampert

Vanessa Lampert has just completed an M.A. in writing poetry at Newcastle University’s collaboration with Poetry School London. She has been highly commended in the Bridport, Troubadour and Gregory O’Donoghue poetry prizes and published in The Interpreter’s house. She lives in Wallingford South Oxfordshire and works as an acupuncturist.

Our judge Chris Redmond commented: - This as a witty, well crafted, text-speak poem about friendship and depression. I almost passed over it as a contender because it is so easy to read, but each time I read it I noticed more nuance and that beneath the short lines, well-crafted rhythm and everyday vernacular there is real feeling and trouble. The dynamic of one person reaching out to grab another from a difficult place as an act of love is communicated by the medium of a typed abbreviated conversation, as banter. There is a lightness, as a result, that belies the gravity of the situation and the quiet pun it ends on is a gentle wallop in the guts. Lovely stuff.

Wendy Breckon

Wendy Breckon lives near the sea and can often be seen in Lyme Regis, scribbling away, on a stripy deckchair wobbling in the sand. She has a passion for storytelling and memoir, appearing in the Fish Anthology as a runner up in 2018 and again this year. Other special moments include being placed third in the Winchester memoir competition and publication of a quirky book, 'Under the Hen's Bottom', nostalgic tales of an Irish childhood.

Wendy is delighted to be chosen for the Writing Without Restriction competition. On hearing about her good news, she celebrated wildly with her favourite coffee and a delicious almond croissant. Fortunately, no-one was watching!

Our judge Chris Redmond commented – “This is a warm, funny, well written trilogy of three short stories and an epilogue, spanning forty-five years of friendship between the same people. There is such love in here, it's hard not to be charmed by it. The care the writer has taken in 'wrapping' the stories up in a handmade collage book with enticement to feast at the table is testament to the passion of the writer for both her craft and the friendships she is writing about. The scene setting is snappy, the dialogue witty. It's nostalgic, sentimental and utterly unapologetic about it, but there is a craft evident here. There's a gentle paciness to the writing that helps remind the reader of how quickly forty-five years can skip by and that small moments shared by good friends can become micro-mythologies worth savouring again and again. “