Young & Talented Cornwall celebrates Creative Writing Award winners

Young & Talented Cornwall, The Lord Lieutenant’s FundA sum of money made available for grant making, often with specific criteria/conditions. (Y&TC) has awarded eight budding writers a year’s worth of professional mentoring, funding and book tokens.

They are Keron Day, from Helston, Solly Bowden, from Cubert, Alana Menmuir, from Truro, Keira Money, from Camborne, Charlotte Pace, from Newquay, Benjamin Beasley, from Callington, Roo Hargreaves, from Redruth, and Jessica Payne, from Boscastle.

Dr Jennifer Young, Dean of the Faculty of Design & Culture, opened the event by welcoming everyone to Falmouth University. 

Author Philip Marsden, Award Curator of the creative writing assessment panelA group of people who review grant applications and decide which will receive funding., introduced the awardees, read out their citations and announced their Cornwall-based writing mentors. 

“It’s been a real pleasure to read this year’s submissions,” said Philip. “The standard is very high and each of the writers has already done amazing work. With their mentors’ support, I feel sure they’ll make great progress.”

Colonel Sir Edward Bolitho, Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall and Chair of Y&TC, presented certificates to each of the recipients present.

“Getting this award is surreal and really weird because I didn’t even finish secondary school,” said Solly Bowden, who has written and directed two films available on You Tube and founded a theatre company.

“I’ve wanted to tell stories since I was very young. No-one in my family writes but they’re great storytellers – especially my nan who comes alive when she’s telling a story.

“I’m so excited because I want to write for a living. Expert guidance is essential and with Carl Grose (of Kneehigh fame) as my mentor, that will come from the very best.”

For Roo Hargreaves, writing and creating art has become a way of making sense of her experiences, emotions and individuality. Her poem ‘The Colour That Caught Me’ is a deeply felt and very evocative expression of a very dark time in her life. 

“I still can’t believe this has happened,” said Roo, who will be mentored by poet, writer and performer Katrina Naomi. “It’s a great opportunity to keep using my voice as an artist to create work that is whimsical and personal, showing both my uniqueness and my mental health struggles. I want my writing to help other people connect and accept themselves.”

It’s the second time that Keira Money has been given a Young & Talented Cornwall creative writing award and this time her mentor is author Patrick Gale.

“I was sixteen when I last received the award and it was so amazing then,” said Keira. “I’ve been working on a novel for the last couple of years and want to get published. I have the motivational drive to finish it but it’s difficult to know how to move forwards. The experience and outside perspective of my new mentor is exactly what I need to complete a full first draft.”

At just sixteen, Alana Menmuir is the youngest of this year’s cohort. Formerly a pupil at Richard Lander School, she is now studying for A Levels at Truro & Penwith College. Fantasy author Sam K Horton will be her mentor.

“Coming to this event and speaking to the Lord Lieutenant has been really cool,” said Alana. “I want to get my ideas out into the world and being mentored will really help me do that.”

Olive Mills, a previous award recipient, concluded the presentation by reading out her poem,‘What am I Doing at the Bottom of the Ocean’, which has just beaten more than 600 other entries in a national poetry competition.

First launched in 2005 as the Lord Lieutenant’s Fund for Youth and now known as Young & Talented Cornwall, the charity aims to open doors and provide support for Cornwall’s young rising stars.

“It is a such a pleasure to be able to support these exceptional young creative writers as they seek to achieve their full potential,” said Colonel Sir Edward Bolitho, Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall.

“And many thanks to the mentors, volunteers and sponsors Seasalt Cornwall and Falmouth University who play such vital roles in the success of this Fund.”

“We are proud to have been part of the Young & Talented Cornwall Creative Writing Award from the very outset and are delighted to see our new entrants and former recipients go from strength to strength each year,” said Sonya Corrigan, Director of PR and Communications for Seasalt Cornwall. 

“We are privileged to witness a wealth of writing ability locally, with such genuine encouragement from everybody involved.  Nurturing and developing talent in our Cornish home has always been of huge importance to Seasalt and we maintain our commitment to continuing to do so in the future.”

Applications for next year’s Y&TC Creative Writing Awards will open on 24 November and Philip Marsden and the assessment team are keen to hear from anyone in Cornwall who has spotted exceptional writing talent and would like to see it developed.

“We want to do more to spread the word about the awards,’ said Philip. ‘This year has revealed what a wealth of talent there is out there, but I’m sure there are others quietly trying their hand  at writing, having the world opened up by reading and books, in need of encouragement. These are the ones we want to reach.”

This fund is managed and administered by Cornwall Community Foundation.

For more information, visit https://youngandtalentedcornwall.org/