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The Bedford Competition 2023 Results

The 2023 Judges

Tim Jarvis

Short Story Prize Judge

Timothy J. Jarvis is a writer of supernatural fiction. He grew up in north Bedfordshire, and now lives back in Bedford. He is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Anglia Ruskin University. His 'last man' novel, The Wanderer, was first published in 2014 (Perfect Edge) and was reprinted in a new edition in 2022 (Zagava)...... Read More

Kirsten Norrie

Poetry Prize Judge

MacGillivray is the matrilineal pen and performance name of poet, musician and artist Kirsten Norrie. The author of four collections of poetry published by Bloodaxe in the UK and Red Hen in the US, she has made nine records, working with producer and musician James Young (Nico, John Cale) and her music features in the soundtracks of three films by avant-garde British director Andrew Kötting.... Read More

J S Watts

Cygnature Story Prize Judge

J.S.Watts is a British poet and novelist who weaves the fantastical and the literary with other vibrant strands to create glowing, multi-faceted writing. Originally from London, she now lives in Cambridgeshire. Her poetry, short stories and non-fiction appear in a wide variety of publications in Britain, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the States and have been broadcast on BBC and Independent Radio.... Read More

Sarah Davies

Cygnature Poetry Prize Judge

Sarah Davies is from Merseyside via Edinburgh and London, but has lived in Bedford for over 20 years. She has always written poetry and is a firm believer in its ability to communicate and give access to all voices. Sarah has helped run Bedford poetry night Ouse Muse for several years.... Read More

Paul Barnes Bedford Short Story

Paul Barnes

Bedford Story Prize Judge

Paul Barnes retired from teaching secondary school English Language and Literature in Bedford in 2019. He has been a keen attender of poetry and cultural events in north Beds, and chairs Poetry Café monthly, in succession to the late Richard Hancock... Read More

Liam Coles Bedford Poetry Prize

Liam Coles

Bedford Poetry Prize Judge

Liam Coles is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Cambridge. His project focuses on sound and religiosity in twentieth-century US poetry. He researches how poetic sound forms can interrelate with cognitive understandings of consciousness, and traces an historic lineage from pulpit to lectern heard in the voicings of American poets during performance... Read More

The 2023 Winners

Main Short Story

1st Prize

Joey

Isaac Hogarth

2nd Prize

Church Going

Victoria Stewart

 

3rd Prize

Inner Loop

Josie Turner

Main Poetry Prize

1st Prize

Pantoum

Ben Howard

2nd Prize

Counter Meals

Stephanie Powell

3rd Prize

Ode to a Chimú Pot

Mark Fiddes

Cygnature Short Story

CygnaturePoetry

One Last Dream

Daniel Key

Ashur Acha Iddina

Adam Ali-Hassan

Bedford Short Story

Bedford Poetry

The Truffle Hunters

Lucia Wilde

Mothering Sunday. At the “Garden of Rest”

Anne Atkins

Short Story Competition – Shortlist

Story titleAuthor
All BusinessJames Watson

UK

Church GoingVictoria Stewart

UK

A dying breedTony Durrant

UK

HideChris Belson

UK

Home TurfJoy Clews

UK

Inner LoopJosie Turner

UK

I Wanted to be a Blues ManDavid Joseph

USA

JoeyIsaac Hogarth

Australia

A Song from a Different RoomGwen Williams

UK

StarfishSheila Killian

Ireland

Sunday MorningDell Kaniper

Mexico

Thomas and WillFelicity Reid

UK

Poetry Competition – Shortlist

Poem titlePoet

A river running shallow

Kevin Smith

Australia

Ars Poetica: 6pmLouise Walker

UK

Autumn WindJeanette Burney

USA

Color Blind

Gina Shaffer

USA

Counter mealsStephanie Powell

Australia

End of an AfternoonDonald Wildman

USA

HomecomingAmy Levitin Graver

USA

Life in a Hammershøi Painting:Lois P Jones

USA

MythologyBen Verinder

UK

Ode to a Chimú Pot Mark Fiddes

Dubbai

OtsuchiBen Verinder

UK

Pantoum (after Béla Tarr)

Ben Howard

UK

The Bedford Competition is an established nonprofit group that runs annual short story and poetry competitions. We are an internationally recognised competition with a carefully curated panel of judges who are either acclaimed writers or agents from renowned literary agencies.

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Tim Jarvis

Short Story Prize Judge

Timothy J. Jarvis is a writer of supernatural fiction. He grew up in north Bedfordshire, and now lives back in Bedford. He is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Anglia Ruskin University. His ‘last man’ novel, The Wanderer, was first published in 2014 (Perfect Edge) and was reprinted in a new edition in 2022 (Zagava). Short-fiction has appeared in Harvard Review, Infra Noir, Bitter Distillations, An Invite to Eternity,The Far Tower: Stories for W.B. Yeats, The Shadow Booth Vol. 1, 3:AM Magazine, Leviathan 4: Cities, and New Writing 13, among other places. He is a member of the committee of the Friends of Arthur Machen, a society dedicated to the life and works of the Welsh author of the fantastic, and co-edits the Friends’ journal, Faunus.

Liv Maidment

Short Story Prize Judge

Liv Maidment is Head of Books and a Literary Agent specialising in literary, upmarket, and book club fiction. Liv came to the Madeleine Milburn Agency from The Blair Partnership and United Agents where she worked with bestselling and award-winning authors and global literary brands. She joined the agency in 2020 where she represents a stellar list of literary, upmarket, and book club fiction. As Head of Books, Liv works closely with the directors to implement strategy across the agency.

Jessica Mookherjee

Poetry Prize Judge

Jessica Mookherjee is author of two poetry collections and her second, Tigress (Nine Arches Press) was Shortlisted for best second collection in the Ledbury Munthe Prize 2021. She has been twice highly commended in the Forward Prize for best single poem (in 2018 and in 2021) and her work is included in notable anthologies such as ‘Staying Human’ (Bloodaxe). Her latest pamphlet is Playlists (Broken Sleep Books). Her next full collection is called Notes from a Shipwreck and out with Nine Arches Press in August 2022 . Her long poem Desire Lines will be published by Broken Sleep Books in 2023. She is a co-editor of Against the Grain Press and a Board Member of the Poetry Society.

Kirsten Norrie

Poetry

MacGillivray is the matrilineal pen and performance name of poet, musician and artist Kirsten Norrie. The author of four collections of poetry published by Bloodaxe in the UK and Red Hen in the US, she has made nine records, working with producer and musician James Young (Nico, John Cale) and her music features in the soundtracks of three films by avant-garde British director Andrew Kötting. She makes a literary appearance as a cameo in Iain Sinclair’s writing and worked with cinematographer Anonymous Bosch to write and direct a Gaelic short film, returning to the Isle of Skye to shoot on location with funding from Creative Scotland. Trained at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, Oxford University, she writes, performs and composes using Scots, Gaelic and English with French for her 2022 album derived from the poetry of Mary Queen of Scots, released on Antigen Records. In 2018, she raised funds to visit the great grandson of Sitting Bull to make the recording The Last Wolf of Scotland. In November 2023, Bloodaxe will publish her fourth collection based on Norwegian-Shetlandic poet Kristján Norge who vanished from Eilean a’ Bhàis in 1961. She has taught at Oxford, the ECA and the Royal College of Art and directs the Oxford School of Poetry. See more on her website.
J S Watts

Cygnature Short Story Prize Judge

J.S.Watts is a British poet and novelist who weaves the fantastical and the literary with other vibrant strands to create glowing, multi-faceted writing. Originally from London, she now lives in Cambridgeshire.

Her poetry, short stories and non-fiction appear in a wide variety of publications in Britain, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the States and have been broadcast on BBC and Independent Radio. She has edited various magazines and anthologies and performed her poetry across England, Scotland and Wales, but not yet in Ireland (should anyone from Ireland be reading this). Along the way, she has won various awards and had honourable mentions in others, but nothing so outstanding that she wants to make a big thing out of it. .

J.S.’s three poetry collections, Cats and Other Myths, Years Ago You Coloured Me and Underword, are published by Lapwing Publications, as is her multi-award nominated SF poetry pamphlet, Songs of Steelyard Sue. Her poetry pamphlet, The Submerged Sea, was published by Dempsey & Windle. Her novels, A Darker Moon– dark fiction, Witchlight, Old Light and Elderlight – an urban fantasy trilogy, are published in the US and UK by Vagabondage Press

For further details see her website: www.jswatts.co.uk

Stephen Bywater

Cygnature Story Prize Judge

Stephen Bywater joined the merchant navy at sixteen before going on to study English at university. After graduating he taught in South and Central America for three years, returning to the UK to complete an MLitt at St Andrews. For the past twenty years he has taught English in Bedford, where he lives with his wife and two daughters. He is currently teaching English at a college in Cambridge He is the author of two novels, The Devil’s Ark and Night of the Damned (published by Headline/Hachette), and is currently working on his third.

Sarah Davies

Cygnature Poetry Prize Judge

Sarah Davies is from Merseyside via Edinburgh and London, but has lived in Bedford for over 20 years. She has always written poetry and is a firm believer in its ability to communicate and give access to all voices. Sarah has helped run Bedford poetry night Ouse Muse for several years. Sarah has been published in a wide range of poetry publications, been shortlisted for poetry prizes and is working on a collection.
Paul Barnes

Bedford Story Prize Judge

Paul Barnes retired from teaching secondary school English Language and Literature in Bedford in 2019. He has been a keen attender of poetry and cultural events in north Beds, and chairs Poetry Café monthly, in succession to the late Richard Hancock. The group has seen four compilation volumes edited by Paul in 2021-22. He writes occasional poetry and prose, co-runs the monthly Read Poets Society, helps in two local bookshops, and is a fanatic for cricket umpiring and Shakespeare, The Place Theatre, the Rothsay Education Centre, and the Campaign for Real Ale.

Liam Coles

Bedford Poetry Prize Judge

Liam Coles is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Cambridge. His project focuses on sound and religiosity in twentieth-century US poetry. He researches how poetic sound forms can interrelate with cognitive understandings of consciousness, and traces an historic lineage from pulpit to lectern heard in the voicings of American poets during performance. He secured a scholarship for his master’s degree at the University of Oxford (2017-18), where he wrote mainly on nineteenth-century religious poetry, including the work of the Rossetti siblings and Keats. He has a first-class BA in English Literature from the University of Bristol (2013-16), and his undergraduate dissertation concerned the Victorian poet Gerard Manley Hopkins.

Born and raised in Bedford, Liam now lives in London and enjoys cooking and nature, but poetry is his real joy, and outside of his academic work he loves to discover writers he has not yet heard of!