Shorelines 2 poetry winners announced

Scott-Patrick Mitchell, James Quinton and Emma Rooksby will feature in Shorelines 2, a collection of works by emerging poets to be published by Fremantle Press in 2010.

Guest editor and poet Tracy Ryan said the editorial committee was spoilt for choice with 36 promising collections submitted for appraisal.

“But I think this final selection is a real stand-out, and will make a terrific book,” said Ryan.

Fremantle Press’ Poetry Publisher Georgia Richter said it was a difficult decision and commended all the poets – particularly those who were shortlisted.

“My commiserations to Maree Dawes, Sarah French and Meredi Ortega whose work was also of an exceptional standard.

“But we are thrilled with our final three – these are very distinct and talented poets, and their three voices will interact beautifully with each other,” said Richter.

Shorelines 2 will be released in Fremantle Press Poetry Month which takes place in July 2010. As part of the Press’ ongoing commitment to encouraging new and emerging poets, Ryan will run an invitation-only masterclass during Poetry Month 2010. Invitations will be issued to poets who may not have received feedback and support from writing communities but who submitted evocative and original raw material for Shorelines 2.

The Shorelines 2 editorial committee consisted of Wendy Jenkins, Georgia Richter and guest editor, poet and novelist, Tracy Ryan.

The original Shorelines showcased the work of Barbara Temperton, Roland Leach and Mike Heald who have each gone on to publish individual poetry collections.

About the poets:

Scott-Patrick Mitchell is a poet and writer living in Perth. He works as a journalist for OUTinPerth and his poetry and fiction has been published in such anthologies as Interactive Geographies, Lines of Wisdom, Red Leaves and Through the Clock’s Working. He has been a guest at both the National Young Writers’ Festival and Emerging Writers’ Festival. He has been involved with Cottonmouth and is the editor of the underground literary street art adventure that is MoTHER [has words…]. In 2009, he won The PressPress Chapbook Award for songs for the ordinary mass, a collection which fuses urban sampling with Gregorian musical notations. His submission is titled (where n equals) a determinacy of poetry.

James Quinton was born and grew up in Perth in the ‘rich and romantic country’ of the Bassendean area. The Swan River and rivers in general are a large preoccupation in his writing. James has self-published three chapbooks since May 2008. These are Death Near a River, Little River and Young River Water. James has had poems published in Westerly and Cottonmouth.

Emma Rooksby was born in Perth and has lived there for much of her life. She now divides her time between Canberra and Wollongong. Her poems have been published in Australian journals and newspapers including Blue Dog, Famous Reporter and Eureka Street. She is currently a public servant, but has also worked as an academic in the fields of philosophy and literature, including, recently, a post-doctoral research fellowship at the University of Western Australia. Her submission to Shorelines 2 is titled Time Will Tell.