The Bournemouth Writing Prize celebrates the work of talented writers from around the world. Here are some details about our past winners

2024

Short Story

Mary Shovelin – Bad Blood

Mary Shovelin is a translator/writer who has been living longer in Belgium than in her native Donegal, Ireland. She has had several short stories published in anthologies, while others have been longlisted/shortlisted and commended in various competitions in England, Scotland and Ireland.

She recently won first prize in the Kilmore Write by the Sea short story competition in Ireland. You can read the story on the Write by the Sea website. Another story, commended in the Edinburgh short story competition, is published in their anthology, Solemates, available on Amazon. She is currently working on a collection.

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Poetry

Julie Leoni – Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Julie Leoni lives on the Welsh Borders where she teaches yoga, swims in the river at the bottom of her garden, and raises raspberries, rhubarb, and her children. She blogs for Psychologies Magazine and runs family retreats in community settings. Her PhD means that she gets to teach interesting courses at a number of universities and schools. She is the author of three non-fiction books which can be found at www.julieleoni.com.

Hedgehog Press will also be publishing Julie’s winning poem in a collection called Farmotherlands in spring 2025. Julie has been a finalist for the Cinnamon Press Collection Prize twice, a finalist for LISP, and has received commendations as a shortlist contender for both Mslexia and The Bridport Prize, as well as being longlisted for the Canterbury Prize.