TWO graduates from the University of Worcester will officially release their prize-winning books.

Creative Writing students Margaret Adkins, from Malvern, and Michael Wheatley, from Pershore, were both awarded prizes at their graduation ceremony last year in recognition of the excellence of their work on the course. Those prize-winning pieces of work have been published and will be launched at The Hive on May 2.

Ms Adkins, who won the V. Press Prize for Poetry for her pamphlet Mingled Space, said: “I feel over the moon. I’m deeply grateful for this opportunity to have work published with V. Press. I have bought several past publications of theirs, and I’m delighted to feature alongside these voices. It is an honour to be chosen as the inaugural winner of the V. Press Prize for Poetry.

“Without the University of Worcester’s Creative Writing course, I wouldn’t be receiving this prize or seeing my work published in any form. My background is in nursing and midwifery. To be in this position is something I never dared to dream. I have always loved reading, but I wasn’t writing creatively before university.”

Mr Wheatley, who won the Black Pear Press Prize for Fiction for his novella called The Writers’ Block, said: “I feel honoured to have received the inaugural Black Pear Press Prize for Fiction. When I was completing my Extending Writing Project in my final year at Worcester, I wasn’t even aware that there may be an award at the end of this, so it was an incredible surprise. It’s something I’m very proud of.

“The support, advice, and skills which the University of Worcester gave me, and continues to give me, is indescribable. Worcester gave me the confidence to go on and do a Masters, and made me into a completely different writer to the one I was when I started the course.”

Ruth Stacey, a lecturer in Creative Writing at the university, said: “I am really pleased for Margaret and Michael, and very proud of their achievements. I hope they are as excited about seeing their work in print as I am. I would urge anyone with an interest in writing to join us to celebrate the launch of our inaugural Creative Writing Prize winners."

For more information about the event, contact Ruth Stacey on r.stacey@worc.ac.uk.

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