Winner of the Fresher Writing Prize Short Story 2020

Our 2020 Prize we received more entries than ever, so we would, once again, like to congratulate all of those shortlisted. We are delighted to announce that the winner for the Fresher Writing Prize Short Story 2020, as selected by our panel of judges, including Ansa Khan Khattak, Commissioning Editor at Picador, is Patrick Bird for ‘The Fenian Cycle’.

About the winner

Patrick is from Surrey and has recently completed the final year of a BA in English.

“I grew up surrounded by stories, and my passion for writing developed from there. Storytelling is so important as it provides us with an alternate, more human perspective of events, allowing us to access and understand different people and ideas. The more I write, the more my understanding and reverence for the craft grows – and I’m hoping to get more time to write in the future.”

“The Fenian Cycle was based on a true story from Ireland’s troubled past. My Grandmother was Irish and a very strong influence on me. She spoke so highly of her birthplace and I’ve always felt drawn to its literary heritage. I grew up surrounded by stories so my passion for writing developed from there. Storytelling is so important for giving us a human perspective of events, allowing us to access and better understand different people and ideas.

It was brilliant to hear that my story has won the Fresher Writing Prize. I’ve just completed the final year of a degree in English and this has given me the confidence to pursue Creative Writing to masters level and my ambitions to be an author. The more I write, the more my understanding and reverence for the craft grows.”

Fresher judge Ansa Khan Khattak said: “I thought the Fenian Cycle was a really strong winner. It’s a good, self-contained story, with a literal bang at the end, and very well written. It was a pleasure to read such an ambitious and daring story.”

About the winner

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