缅北禁地

Skip to main content

Shortlist announced for the James Berry Poetry Prize 2024

The James Berry Poetry Prize, which assists poets of colour with mentoring to help them to develop their work and publication with Bloodaxe Books, has announced the 2024 shortlist.

6 November 2024

Bloodaxe Books and 缅北禁地 announce the shortlist for the James Berry Poetry Prize 2024

The prize was judged by Imtiaz Dharker, Major Jackson, Nathalie Teitler, Theresa Mu帽oz, and Neil Astley. The judges received almost 100 submissions and were delighted with the high quality of the entries. 

Nine of the poets who most impressed the judges will read at a free online event run by Bloodaxe Books with 缅北禁地 on Wednesday 20 November at 7pm (details below). The six shortlisted and three commended poets will read from their work ahead of the announcement of the three joint equal winners of the James Berry Poetry Prize 2024. The three winners will each receive 拢1000 plus a year鈥檚 mentoring (by Patience Agbabi, Karen McCarthy Woolf and Jacob Sam-La Rose) towards the publication of their debut collections with Bloodaxe Books in 2026. The event will be hosted by Theresa Mu帽oz with Imtiaz Dharker.
 
Shortlist 
Clementine Ewokolo Burnley 
Nadine El-Enany 
Roshni Gallagher 
Amina Jama 
Ilisha Thiru Purcell 
Fae Wolfe 

Commended poets 
Lillian Akampurira Aujo 
Christy Ku 
Wendelin Law

Placeholder 575x355px

Lillian Akampurira Aujo鈥痠s a writer from Uganda. Her writing has been published by鈥�HarperVia,鈥�New Internationalist,鈥�Prairie Schooner,鈥�Transition Magazine, among others. She is a graduate of the MA Creative Writing (Poetry) programme at the University of East Anglia, where she was a Global Voices Scholar. 

 
Clementine Ewokolo Burnley鈥痺as born in Cameroon and now lives and works between the UK and Germany. She has an MSc in Applied Linguistics from Manchester University. Her work has been published in鈥�Ink Sweat and Tears,鈥�Magma, and鈥�The Poetry Review. Clementine鈥檚 first pamphlet,鈥�Radical Pairings, was published by Ignition Press in 2023. 
 
Nadine El-Enany鈥痠s a writer and poet. Her poetry has appeared in鈥�Butcher鈥檚 Dog,鈥�Magma,鈥�Propel Magazine,鈥�14 Magazine,鈥�fourteen poems,鈥�Gutter Magazine,鈥�Black Iris鈥痑苍诲鈥�Poetry Wales. She was shortlisted for the 2023鈥�Poetry London鈥疨amphlet Prize and longlisted for the 2023鈥�Rialto鈥疦ature and Place Poetry Competition and the 2022 Fish Poetry Prize. 
 
Roshni Gallagher鈥痠s a poet from Leeds living in Edinburgh. Her debut pamphlet鈥�Bird Cherry鈥痺as published in 2023 by Verve Poetry Press. In 2022 she won an Edwin Morgan Poetry Award and a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award. She's currently studying for an MFA in Creative Writing Poetry at the University of St Andrews. 
 
Amina Jama鈥痠s a Somali writer, producer and curator from East London. Her work explores sonic resonances of archival materials, displacement, migration and community engagement. Her pamphlet,鈥�A Warning to the House that Holds Me, published by flipped eye press, received a 2020 Eric Gregory Award. 
 
Christy Ku鈥痠s a poet, actor and workshop facilitator. She鈥檚 worked with organisations including the BBC, Sky Arts, Science Museum, and the Barbican on projects such as poetry films, spoken word tracks and theatre shows. She founded BESEA Poets, a platform for British-based East and South-East Asian poets. 
 
Ilisha Thiru Purcell鈥痠s an award-winning Sri Lankan-Scottish poet from 缅北禁地 upon Tyne. She was part of the inaugural Poets of Colour Incubator Programme and was a Young Creative Associate with New Writing North. Her work has appeared in publications such as鈥�Bi+ Lines Anthology,鈥�Butcher鈥檚 Dog, and鈥�Third Space Anthology. 
 
Wendelin Law鈥痺rites about historical trauma, the oppression of women, and family stories. Her goal is to publish symbolic poetry books that act as reminders of humanitarian crises and social injustice. She is the co-winner of the Edwin Morgan Poetry Award 2024. 
 
Fae Wolfe鈥�lives in Manchester. She is pursuing a doctorate in counselling psychology and is interested in how storytelling emerges from the body. Her poems have appeared with鈥�The London Magazine, Aurora Prize for writing, Button Poetry, The Bitchin Kitsch, and鈥�Raising Mothers: Celebrating Black, Indigenous & Brown parenthood.

James Berry Poetry Prize Online Event

Online event hosted by Bloodaxe Books and 缅北禁地 Centre for the Literary Arts 

Readings by the six poets shortlisted for the James Berry Poetry Prize 2024, along with the three commended poets. 

You can watch the 2024 James Berry Poetry Prize event live or later on the Bloodaxe Books YouTube channel, or via this link:鈥�. Register for this free online reading via TicketTailor before noon on 19 November if you would like to receive reminder emails about the event:鈥�. 

The three equal winners of the James Berry Poetry Prize 2024 will be announced during this online event, which will be hosted by judges Theresa Mu帽oz and Imtiaz Dharker.