Paisley Book Festival announces winners of prestigious literary prize

Event organisers were looking for poets to submit works mirroring their theme for this year's festival, held in April, of ‘Imagine Something Different’.

The winners of the 2024 Janet Coats Memorial Prize have now been announced as Mariya Javed, an S3 pupil at St Benedict's High School (under 18s category) and Catherine Wilson Garry (over 18s category).

Catherine Wilson Garry - winner of the Over 18s category with the judges - Mairi Murphy, Shaun Moore and Courtney Stoddart (Image: PR)

The over 18s category winner will receive a cash prize of £850 and under 18s will receive £50 and a £200 donation to their school library supported by the Peter Coats Charitable Trust.

In total, 75 poems were submitted for the over-18s category and 67 were submitted by under-18 pupils attending Renfrewshire schools.

The judging panel for the prestigious prize included the acclaimed Scottish-Caribbean poet and performer, Courtney Stoddart; local poet Mairi Murphy, winner of the 2016 Alistair Buchan Prize for poetry; and the Tannahill Makar for Renfrewshire Shaun Moore.

In tune with the theme Catherine’s poem entitled ‘If They Ask Me for Hope, I Say’ is her ode to the ‘well-worn floors’ of community centres, town halls, libraries, cafes, and charities.

Catherine put forward the poem in the hope that when people feel overwhelmed by the state of the world, they don’t have far to find humanity at its best.

She said: “I am absolutely delighted to have won this year's Janet Coats Memorial Prize. I was totally blown away by the other poems on the shortlist, so it's a total honour to have been chosen as the winner.

“I'm so thankful to the judges and other poets, and beyond delighted to hear the work of the younger writers who prove that Scotland's ability to imagine and speak for a better world is strong and alive in its young people.”

Mariya Javed’s poem ‘To My Brother’ is a beautiful and heartfelt tribute to her late brother.

Shaun Moore, Tannahill Makar, said: “The judges thoroughly enjoyed reading the shortlisted poems. It was a tricky task to select winners, but it was made pleasurable as we relished the impressive writing skills on show, and the variety of styles and emotions they evoked for us.

“We found the Young People’s submissions particularly inspiring as many writers used the Imagine Something Different prompt to show great empathy for others and concern for political and environmental issues. Our thanks to OneRen for promoting creative writing and to all the poets who shared their work.”