Themes and judges chosen for Warwick Writing Prize

The topic of ‘instinct’ has been chosen as the writing theme for the 2015 Warwick Prize for Writing.

The theme was unveiled at the Cheltenham Literature Festival held on October 11.

The biennial literary prize, worth £25,000, is an international cross-disciplinary award open to any genre or form of writing.

The prize has been run by the University of Warwick since 2009 and will also award the winner with a short placement at the University of Warwick.

It was also announced at the festival that the judging panel will be chaired by Alison Kennedy, Warwick alumna and author.

Ms Kennedy is an associate professor in the Department of English and Comparative Literary Studies at the University of Warwick and teaches on the Warwick Writing Programme.

Accompanying her on the panel of five are author and academic Robert Macfarlane, actress and director Fiona Shaw, Warwick alumnus and Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler, and physician and writer Gavin Francis.

Faculty, student, staff and alumna of the University of Warwick and Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, will be able to nominate significant pieces of writing.

Contrary to previous years, the prize will also be open to submissions directly from publishers worldwide this year.

Dr Sarah Moss, co-director of the Warwick Prize for Writing, said: “The Warwick Prize for Writing is unique in celebrating the best written English in any genre, prose or verse, print or electronic, polemic or simply beautiful.”

She added that this was an exciting year for them as they invite submissions from publishers all over the world, and their judges would need all experience to find the winner.

As the University of Warwick will mark its 50th anniversary in 2015, the announcement of the winner in November next year will be an important part of the celebrations.

Those who wish to make a nomination can do so online.