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Mark Goodwin was the “surprise” winner of the first ever East Midland Book Award, presented last night at the Lowdham Book Festival.
His poetry book Shod (Nine Arches) beat 45 other entries to receive an engraved trophy and a £1,000 prize.
Ross Bradshaw, joint organiser of the Lowdham Book Festival, said: "There is no doubt Shod was a surprise winner, coming from one of the smallest publishers among the original 46 entries from writers across the East Midlands.
“That made for an exciting moment. Any one of the shortlisted books would have made a worthy winner and this is a great springboard to take the Award forward. Mark Goodwin has been active in the region's poetry scene for many years and we are very pleased for him."
The prize aims to promote literary talent coming from the East Midlands and is administered by Writing East Midlands. The trustees have secured private funding to run the East Midlands Book Award for ten years. Nominations for books published this year are already open, with composer Gavin Bryars heading the judging team.