The winner of the 2024 Kelpies Prize has been named at a unique award ceremony at the Scottish Poetry Library.
Edinburgh-based publisher Floris Books celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Kelpies Prize for Writing and named Callum Beesley as their winner for this year.
Mr Beesley is a writer from Kent who is now based near Falkirk in Scotland and it was presented by the first ever Kelpies Prize winner Mike Nicholson, as well as Gill Arbuthnott, who was one of the first new authors to be published under Floris Books’ Kelpies imprint.
Entries to the 2024 prize were asked to provide a selection of writing samples suitable for a children’s book which showcased their range and creativity. All the entries were anonymised and the judges were hugely impressed by the standard of the work received.
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Mr Beesley was selected as the winner and will now have nine months of mentoring from the team at Floris, while the audience in attendance were treated to readings from the shortlisted entries by former winner Janis Mackay and a special celebration of 20 years of the prize presented by Floris CEO Katy Lockwood-Holmes.
And she said: “In the end, it’s about the children who have read and loved those books, who have felt empowered and seen, by reading books set where they live, with characters that speak like they speak, with their heritage and culture and landscapes and stories. And we, at Floris, couldn’t be prouder to be a part of that.”
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