New Writing Ventures 2005 Poetry Winners

WINNER: Valeria Melchioretto
Valeria Melchioretto has had poems published in various publications including Poetry London, Wolf Magazine and the Salzburg Review. She has also attended a number of workshops and courses including workshops with Pascale Petit and attending the Arvon Course with Carole Sacmurty and Gregory Warren Wilson.

RUNNER-UP: Rebecca O’Connor
Rebecca O’Connor was born in Ireland in 1975. She started writing poetry when she was eight years old. After studying English Literature at Queen’s University, Belfast, she took an MA in American Literature at King’s College, London. She then went on to work as an editor at Oxford University Press for two and a half years. She now works at Saqi books in London. Rebecca was awarded the Geoffrey Dearmer prize for “new poet of the year” by Poetry Review. Her short story, ‘The Mayfly’ was a prize winner in the Virago/Marie Claire short story competition and her first novel, He is Mine and I have No Other, was completed with the help from Arts Council, Ireland. Her recent poems appeared in Reactions 5, published by Pen & Inc Press in June 2005.

RUNNER-UP:  Meryl Pugh
Meryl Pugh has been writing for ten years. Her poems have been published in Poetry Wales, Poetry London, The Rialto, Magma, Smiths Knoll and Brittle Star. Meryl has given poetry workshops for various organisations including the London Association for the Teaching of English, Institute of Education (University of London) and The Florence Nightingale Museum. She was awarded the Jerwood Arvon Young Poet Apprenticeship in 2003 which prompted her to give up her teaching job in order to spend more time on writing. Meryl has been attending Mimi Khalvati’s Advanced Poetry Workshop at The Poetry School and is currently working towards a first collection of poetry. She is due to take up a Hawthornden Fellowship in October.