RNIB and King’s College London announce winners of writing competition for blind and partially sighted people
Sight loss charity the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and King’s College London have announced the winners of a writing competition for creative writers who are blind or partially sighted.
The competition took place earlier this year, with applicants encouraged to write poetry or prose about how they appreciate art, a museum visit, or a household object that has inspired them.
After receiving a substantial number of submissions, the winners have been formally announced as follows:
- Winner Ashley Ford-McAllister with ‘Goldless Kintsugi’
- Second prize to Caroline Mawer with ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes…and Eyes and Ears and Mouth and Nose’
- Third prize to Steph Cutler with ‘It Takes Two Months’
Alongside the three prize winners, the panel also gave the following submissions special mentions in the results:
- Hilda Hill with ‘The Cutlery Drawer’
- Sarah Oakes with ‘My Favourite Museum’
- Persi Parkinson with ‘Awakening’
- Joe Rizzo Naudi with ‘445 Million Years Ago to Today’
Organised by Ellen Adams, Reader in Classical Archaeology and Liberal Arts at King’s College London, and Sonali Rai, Media, Culture and Immersive Technologies Manager at RNIB, the competition was funded by an Arts and Humanities Impact and Knowledge Exchange Fund at King’s College London and is set to return for 2025.
Ellen said: “This has been a fantastic project. We wanted to challenge the all-too-common assumption that blind and partially sighted people cannot appreciate visual art, and I’ve found this process hugely enjoyable and rewarding. I hope we can build on this in years to come – there is so much potential out there! Many thanks to all those who submitted, and our fantastic judging panel.”
Sonali said: “It was a pleasure to assist in organising the writing competition and to see how many submissions we received from people living with sight loss across the UK. The talent showcased by the participants was truly inspiring, highlighting the incredible potential within the blind and partially sighted community. We are proud to celebrate these outstanding writers and their achievements."
The judging panel consisted of Tanvir Bush, writer of ‘Cull’, Rachel Hutchinson, Lecturer of Psychology at the University of Westminster, Georgina Kleege, Emeritus Professor at the University of California, and Victoria Moul, professor, poet, critic and translator.
A booklet in PDF version has been created to celebrate the submissions, which you can view or download here: https://mansil.uk/writing-competition-2024.
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