The Anthology 2019 Launches at Toppings Bookshop

Last week saw the launch of the seventh annual edition of the KES Anthology at Toppings‘ Bookshop.“Inventive, intriguing, moving. An unforgettable collection of poems and short stories by talented young writers of the future!“ Those were the words of children’s author Tracy Darnton,  guest editor and judge of this year’s poetry and short story competitions. Tracy  was amazed – as all our  previous judges have been – by the quality of work  being produced by the young writers here at school. We at KES are less surprised, of course, because we encounter beautiful writing all the time -  in the classroom, in homework, coursework, in Creative Writing Club, in Reviewed, the Journalism competition, as well as in  in entries for local and national competitions  where our pupils frequently excel.

The Anthology turns seven this year whilst the Poetry and Short Story Competitions are a dozen and ten years old respectively. These, along with  the more recently launched Journalism prize, were designed to give a voice to the many ‘secret scribblers’  of KES, to make heroes of wordsmiths and provide a platform to celebrate the written word. Both competitions have gone from strength to strength with hundreds of entries pouring in every year from pupils of all age groups.

Tracy’s compelling debut novel The Truth about Lies provided the theme for this year’s poetry competition - Remembering and Forgetting - which seemed to strike a chord with many of our pupils. There were poems about forgotten species, forgotten socks and forgotten lives; poems about the memory of animals, memories of childhood, remembrance of things past. Many pupils wrote incredibly moving and thought-provoking verse addressing themes of dementia, amnesia, repressed memories, memorials and remembrance. Our judge was astounded by the beauty and originality of so many of the entries.

The winner in the Senior Category was Netta Claydon for her stunning piece Write a Eulogy, Burn an Effigy, which was also the overall winner in the competition.  Meanwhile the winner in the Junior Category was Elise Withey for her poem Memories in Ink.  “What an original take on the theme,” observed out judge.  “Tracing memories through tattoos with such evocative images.” Tracy was not the only person to recognise Elise’s talent as a poet. On National Poetry day, Elise was invited to attend the awards ceremony for the prestigious Foyles Poetry competition, where she came in the top 100 out of over 11K entries worldwide.

The theme for this year’s Short Story competition also came from our judge’s critically acclaimed debut novel The Truth about Lies - and it turns out KES students are pretty darned good at telling porkies! Lies, damned lies and outright fibs populated the collection of stories that poured in from students of all ages. There were tales of institutional cover-ups, family deceit, and personal dishonesty. Tales of untruth set in past, present and future. Tales of dissimulation, disingenuity and dishonour from all across the globe – and into galaxies far beyond!

The winner in the Junior category was Patrick Hewett for The Omnibus: “Such an imaginative  story,“ observed Tracy.“Excellent world-building and a story which was packed full of action!“ Senior winner was  Maddie Williams for Your Side of the Story  about which Tracy observed: “A compelling and mature use of structure and different perspectives to reveal the story. Great injection of drama“. Our judge was particularly impressed by the standard of work in the Intermediate competition  and the winner in this category  - and also overall winner of the KES Short Story Competition 2019 - was Ellie Martin for Walls which Tracy described as, “ A fresh take on a coming of age story, told from an unusual and effective perspective, peppered with engaging details and description. Definitely one to be read while listening to the chorus of ‘She’s Leaving Home’ by The Beatles! “

You can view photos from the Anthology launch evening below and copies of the Anthology are available to buy for £5 from Toppings‘ Bookshop or by emailing [email protected]

Flickr album: Anthology Book Launch 2019 | Height: auto | Theme: Default