The Michael Holroyd Prize for 'Recreative' literature awarded at Madingley Hall

When the highly acclaimed biographer Michael Holroyd first addressed Creative Writing Masters students at ICE in October 2013 he drew attention to the term ‘non-fiction’ as an essentially negative expression – describing what it was not rather than what it was – and proposed a new term which also took account of the creative aspect of non-fiction writing. Fiction, he suggested, could be described as creative writing, and non-fiction refigured as recreative writing.

Michael Holroyd has kindly helped us set up a prize for recreative writing at ICE in his name and the winners were announced at an event here at Madingley Hall on Wednesday 4 May.

The prize was open to our Undergraduate Certificate in Creative Writing students and Master of Studies in Creative Writing students, all vying for a £250 prize contribution to their fees, which they could also spend on books.

Genres represented included biography; autobiography/memoir; travel writing; writing on human issues and social/cultural history; writing on science, nature and the environment. The judges, ICE tutors, Jem Poster; Sarah Burton; and Midge Gillies, created a shortlist before Michael Holroyd himself chose the overall winner.

Shortlisted entrants along with their ICE creative writing peers were invited to a dinner here at Madingley Hall. The event was hosted by Boyd Tonkin, Chair of the International Booker Prize 2016, who had earlier addressed students on the subject of literary prize culture, from fiercely contested playwriting prizes in Ancient Greece to the present day.

Finalists

3rd place: Look back in hunger by Stu Roberts

2nd place: The Christmas Ox by Jodie Molloy

Winner: Knocking on Walcott’s door by Sara Collins

Michael Holroyd had this to say about the winner’s work:

"Knocking on Walcott's Door is a form of literary autobiography. It is set within a chapter of history and uses memory and imagination to focus on past and present. From an impoverished and eccentric library we are led towards Derek Walcott's poetry. The journey is told with subtlety and composed by a natural writer who takes us on a complex and stimulating journey along maps of the mind ending at Cambridge."

Since winning the Michael Holroyd prize, Sara has also been shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize and signed to major literary agency Peters Frasers Dunlop.

Michael Holroyd went on to say that “this has proved to be an extremely difficult prize to judge. All three of the finalists set very high standards and in a perfect world all should have prizes. They are excellent examples of recreative writing”.

Congratulations to all of the finalists from everyone here at the Institute. We look forward to watching your literary careers flourish in the future.

Creative Writing courses at ICE

If this has inspired you to start writing, we run a number of creative writing courses at ICE, including short courses, online courses, and part-time University qualifications.

Applications for the MSt in Creative Writing open in October for entry in October 2017. 

Should you have any further questions regarding future creative writing study with us, please contact Katherine Roddwell at katherine.roddwell@ice.cam.ac.uk