FRESHERS ISSUE 2023 SCAN Lancaster University

10
SCANLU SCANLancaster scan.lancastersu.co.uk
Arts & Culture
ARTS & CULTURE EDITORS:
Naomi Onakunle
& Amy Dixon
Lancaster MA Student Wins Northern
Writers Award for Poetry
Maria Hill
ARTS ASSOCIATE EDITOR
In June 2023, Lancaster
University’s MA graduate Liam
Bates was awarded the Northern
Writers Award in Poetry winning
a cash prize of between £2000
and £3000 pounds to finance his
works-in-progress.
The Northern Writers Award is a prize
organized by New Writing North,
an organization funded by the Arts
Council England since 1996. Its aim
is to identify and support the work of
writers from across society, and the
prize is focused on supporting writers
in the North of England.
This year, Lancaster University’s MA
graduate Liam Bates was awarded
the Northern Writers Award for
Poetry, winning a hefty cash prize and
gaining recognition for his craft.
Whereas entering
into most prizes
and competitions
in literature require
entry fees, the
Northern Writers
Award provides
free entry, allowing
a range of people
from all financial
backgrounds to
enter.
Other awards included in the
Northern Writing Awards involve
awards for children’s novels, fiction,
memoir, short fiction, and more,
which can all be found on New
Writing North’s website.
The organization also offers other
prizes, such as The Golden Burn Prize
for daring novels, and The David
Cohen Prize for Literature, which is
an award based on a writer’s whole
career.
In an exclusive interview, I asked
him what the process of applying
for the award was like. “It was
pretty painless, as these things go,”
he said. “Free, importantly.”
As for Liam Bates,
he is an inspiration
to young writers
studying at
Lancaster University.
His work has
appeared in a range
of magazines such
as Ambit, Abridged,
and Bath Magg just
to name a few.
Alongside this long list of
publications, previous to winning the
Northern Writers Award, he has been
commended or shortlisted for a range
of other competitions such as Magma,
Bridport Prize and Creative Future,
and was even longlisted for the elusive
National poetry Competition in 2022.
Last year, he
released his fulllength
debut, Human
Townsperson, of
which I was lucky
enough to attend
the release of during
a launch and open
mic event at The
Gregson Center last
year.
Hearing Liam read out the poems
from his debut was a wonderful
experience. The collection is a
thoughtfully crafted series of poems
which explores the links between real
life and video games, with life events
reflecting quests, with vivid imagery
and a touch of humor.
Liam has also
had two poetry
pamphlets,
Working Animals
and Monomaniac,
published, and all
three collections
are available with
Broken Sleep Books.
As a creative writing student myself, I
had a range of questions to ask Liam
about his success within the world of
writing competitions.
In an earlier interview with him which
can be found on SCAN’s website, he
gave a range of insight into his writing
practice and advice for aspiring poets.
During this second interview, Liam
gives further comprehension into
applying for competitions.
For the Northern Writers Award,
those entering were given a brief and
were asked for a number of poems
from a new project alongside “some
commentary on how that project
would go/be supported.”
“There wasn’t much
of a thought process,
beyond sending the
poems that I had,”
Liam continued.
“Coming off the
back of my debut
collection, I only had
so much new stuff
that was working
so I sent all of that.
I wasn’t sure it was
entirely there, but
the deadline forced
my hand”.
As writers, it’s hard to tell if what you’re
working on is good or succeeding in
what you’re aiming to do, but Liam’s
tale is a depiction that we should run
with our doubt and have faith in our
own abilities.
Liam amplifies this message, stating
that “Poetry is really wonderful and
annoying. You have to follow each
poem down the tunnel of itself.”
“Bordes has a
short story about
an empire whose
cartography
becomes so exact
that maps have
to be life-sized;
the inspiration
for a poem is
something like
that. Fortunately,
the more you do it,
somehow the better
you get at it.”
There’s a reason why Lancaster
University is joint 6th in The Sunday
Times’ 2023 rankings for Creative
Writing, for when asking Liam Bates
what at Lancaster University had
really inspired him, he mentioned one
of the plethora of talented teachers
in the English and Creative Writing
department.
“I’d only done Paul
Farley’s MA module
by the time I entered
[the Northern Writers
Award],” he stated,
“but he definitely
knows what he’s
talking about”.
Paul Farley is one of the many talented
teachers within the Creative Writing
department, whose first poetry
collection The Boy from the Chemist
is Here to See You won a Forward
Poetry Prize and The Sunday Times
Young Writer of the Year.
Although cash prizes
are helpful, and “A
not insignificant
portion of the money
will go to other
people’s books”
says Liam of the
Northern Writers
Award, he states
that there are more
benefits to winning
competitions and
prizes than a crash
prize.
“New Writing North have support
packages for all; their winners that are
really helpful for industry knowhow
and just a confidence boost.”
“Poetry is crumbs,
realistically, in terms
of both the money
and readership
involved. But
anything that means
I can write some
more good poems,
and a few people
will read them, I’m
grateful for.”
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:
I can’t wait to see where Liam’s talent
and dedication will take him in the
future. He is an inspiration for all of
us Lancaster University students to
keep writing, keep finding inspiration,
and to have faith in our writing even if
we’re not quite sure it’s working.
Photo: @liambatespoet on
Instagram
Lancaster
Council
Cancels
£35k
Firework
Display
Finale on
Bonfire
Night
Caitlyn Taft
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
As part of the finale of the Light Up
Lancaster arts festival, Lancaster
Council have decided that the
firework display won’t go ahead for
2023.
Light up Lancaster has been going
on since 2012, with its purpose being
to create a multi-artform trail the
night before the fireworks finale. The
festival’s finale was a firework display
shot and launched from Lancaster
Castle grounds.
Thanks to funding from Arts Council
England (ACE), Lancaster City
Council, Lancaster BID, and others,
Lancaster Council have confirmed
that the festival will be extended
from two days to three instead of the
firework display.
The reasoning for the axing of the
firework displays is due to the cost
being “difficult to justify”. Councillor
Catherine Potter, cabinet member
with responsibility for tourism,
explained:
“At £35,000 for a 17-minute display
the cost is difficult to justify and
we also know that people are
increasingly questioning the
environmental impact of fireworks
and the effect they have on domestic
pets and wildlife.”
However, she is confident that the
extra evening will make up for the
loss of the firework display. The extra
evening grants the festival another
opportunity to showcase local art
and Lancaster’s history and culture.
The festival will be held November
2nd-4th, from 5pm to 9pm, double
the hours of the previous year. The
events will be all over the city centre,
like the Market Square and Dalton
Square.