And we have results!

Hi everyone,

We are so excited and proud to be able to share the results of The Magdalena Young Poets' Prize 2021, as anonymously judged by the wonderful Fiona Benson who had a torturous decision on her hands. Here goes!

1st Prize – ‘Not all Bombs get Dramatic Conclusions’ by Hannah Hodgson, aged 23, from Cumbria, who will receive £200 cash

2nd Prize – ‘Maceration’ by Pascal Vine, aged 26 (25 when he entered), from Somerset, who will receive £100 cash

3rd Prize – ‘Slump City’ by Philip Brennan, aged 25, from Reading, who will receive £50 cash

There was so much potential on show that Fiona couldn't help but give two poems our Dragonfly Prize for Potential - and we didn't blame her! This very special award celebrating great promise goes to ‘I thought the feminine experience’ by Megan Baxter, aged 22, from Gloucester, and ‘ripening’ by Jemima Childs, aged 24, from London. Both poets will receive £25 worth of book vouchers.

Additionally, Fiona gave the following outstanding poems honourable mentions in her judge's report:

- ‘Am I clean enough?’ by Lauren Temple, aged 20, from Manchester

- ‘Misery Guts’ by Ellora Sutton, aged 24, from Hampshire

- ‘My Bedroom Has Started to Look Like the Bathroom I Lost My Virginity In’ by Raina Greifer, aged 21, based in Bath

- ‘Samphire Hoe’ by Nick Henry, aged 18, from Gloucestershire

- ‘A Poem for my Baby Sister as she Heads Off to University’ by L Meadows, aged 20, from London

- ‘Pillow Talk’ by Cameron Spain, aged 24, from London

- ‘Alexa’ by Ellie Watson, aged 22, from Norwich

- ‘Stasis’ by Michael Morgan, aged 22, from Coventry

- ‘October’ by Miriam Gauntlett, aged 23, from London

- ‘Does it hurt?’ by Ruth Beddow, aged 24, based in London

- ‘Entry from Noah’s Diary’ by Supriya Finch, aged 17, from Sussex

- ‘Mixed Episode’ by Naoise Gale, aged 20, from Huddersfield

- ‘Mistranslated Serenade For Every Kind of Love’ by Prerana Kumar, aged 22, based in Norwich

- 'And then the lights turn on' by Bethany Trinder, aged 20, based in Bath

In the end, we had well over 300 entries, and the standard of poems received was nothing short of mind-blowing. We are so grateful to each and every young poet who entered for trusting us with their gorgeous work.

We've officially got a date for our virtual prize ceremony: Friday 30th April at 7pm. The event will take place on Zoom, featuring readings of all our prize-winning and mentioned poems, and attended by Fiona and a public audience (we'll be there too!). Everyone is welcome to join us, for free. To register your interest, please drop as an email at themagdalenayoungpoetsprize@gmail.com

Following the ceremony, all prizewinning and mentioned poems will be posted here on our blog, for you to read and love. We'll also be sharing Fiona's judge's report within the next few days, so please keep a watch out for that; it's a beautiful, generous, heartwarming read, and you won't want to miss it.

Please stay safe and take good care.

Lots of love,

Olivia and Anna-May