Jay, Karishma, Celestine, and Kym Shortlisted for Creative Future Award

Karishma Sangtani, Celestine Stilwell, Jay Mitra and Kym Deyn have all been shortlisted for the 2022 Creative Future Writer’s Award. 

The CFWA is the UK’s only national writing competition and development programme for all underrepresented writers. It celebrates talent from those who have faced barriers to access due to mental health issues, disability, identity, health or social circumstance.

This year, writers were invited to submit work on the theme ‘How it Started.’ Almost 1400 unpublished writers entered, with a final shortlist of 36 selected. The judges this year are the best-selling novelist Dorothy Koomson and poet Joelle Taylor, alongside Aki Schilz of the Literary Consultancy and Sarala Estruch of the Poetry School.

Karishma, Celestine and Jay were all shortlisted in the poetry category, whilst Kym has been shortlisted for prose. 12 winners will be announced on the 13th September, and they will share their work at a showcase as part of the London Literature Festival in October. The winners will share over £12,000 in cash and development prizes and will be published in the ‘How it Started’ anthology for 2022.