The Bookseller.com

6th October 2008

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Literary judge tells men to 'wake up'

13.09.07

The judge of a national writing prize has ordered men to "wake up" after all of the £3,000 awards went this year to women, reports the Guardian. With eight of the nine contenders on the New Writing Ventures awards for emerging literary talent being women, the outcome was always unlikely to be otherwise.

Henry Sutton, chair of judges for the fiction section of the awards and literary editor of the Daily Mirror, said he was "surprised and saddened" when he realised that no men had made the grade to even reach the shortlist for the category. "I was shocked when I realised that all three were women," he said. "I've never believed in a difference of the sexes when it comes to literary talent, but there does seem to be a broader appeal in what women are writing than men."

The New Writing Ventures awards, launched two years ago by Booktrust and the New Writing Partnership, are open to all previously unpublished writers of fiction, non-fiction and poetry and are intended to help nurture emerging talent. In addition to the prize money, the winner and runners-up in each category receive a "bespoke development plan" provided by Arts Council England, which includes workshops, online mentoring from the Literary Consultancy, introductions to agents and professional advice.

Guardian

Prize Literary