Are you the next Wordsworth? The 2020 Hunter Davies Lakeland Book of the Year Award is open to entries and it’s time to make your literary mark in a year packed full of literary events centred around the 250th anniversary of the iconic poet’s birth.
The Lakeland Book of the Year 2020 will celebrate and cherish the wide range of literature created in the area’s honour over the past 12 months. Open to any book published in 2019 and set in or featuring Cumbria, the awards showcase how the Lake District continues to inspire creativity in many forms.
Recent winners have included Alan Cleaver and Lesley Park’s The Corpse Roads of Cumbria in 2019 and Phil Rigby’s photographic collection Portrait of Cumbria in 2018. Many entries also focus on the area’s worldwide reputation for adventure and the outdoors, with fellow Lakeland legend Alfred Wainwright winning in 1985.
Joint 2019 winner Alan said: “I’d encourage authors, publishers and readers to support this unique award. Most authors work quietly at writing their books with little or no recognition so it’s wonderful Hunter Davies, his fellow judges, Cumbria Tourism, the county’s bookshops and all the sponsors do so much to shine the limelight on this quiet band of workers. Lesley and I were so honoured to win last year, particularly given the astonishingly high standard of all the other entrants. It was wonderful to be recognised by peers – and I have to say the publicity also gave Corpse Roads of Cumbria a boost too!
“I’d urge authors and publishers to put their modesty aside and support these awards – let’s show the rest of the country just what’s being achieved in this corner of England. It’s time to bang the drum for the fantastic literary work being produced in the Lake District.”
Not only a prolific poet, producing some of the most iconic writings in the English language, Wordsworth and his words have inspired countless rhymes, novels, plays and more. From his collaborations with Samuel Taylor Coleridge and the Lakes Poets during his lifetime to the high-quality works produced by locals and visitors today his mark on the Lake District’s cultural heritage cannot be overstated. With celebrations of his work and life taking place across the county from the National Trust, Lake District National Park, Wordsworth Trust and more 2020 promise to highlight not only Wordsworth’s contribution to British literature but also the amazing works inspired by the landscape.
The judges, who all have a background in writing and broadcasting, are:
- Awards founder Hunter Davies OBE
- Cumbria Tourism President Eric Robson
- Fiona Armstrong, Lord Lieutenant of Dumfries
The panel will read and shortlist entries before category winners and the overall book of the year are announced at a charity event on 30th June 2020. Last year’s supported cause, local mental health charity Growing Well, received more than £1500 from the event.
Authors and publishers can learn more about how to enter at www.lakelandbookoftheyear.co.uk or by contacting Cumbria Tourism at [email protected]. The deadline for entries is Friday 28th February 2020.
Cumbria Tourism provides administration and PR support to the Lakeland Book of the Year alongside external organisers and the judging panel.
