Bridport Prize
Despite a vibrant arts community in the provinces of the UK, there remains a continuous and collective moan from those clinging to the periphery who maintain that nothing of substance happens outside the capital. Country folk who abhor the metropolis deride what they perceive to be an elitist stance. Some argue that anything over and above the virtual dross available nightly on British television only occurs in London or some other city that happens to have been accorded cultural recognition for five minutes: Glasgow and Liverpool have come and gone whilst Manchester never quite managed it.
Fortunately, this is not the case in Dorset where every tiny town and outlying hamlet seems to have a multitude of opportunities on offer for those wishing to participate in the arts. There are numerous independent cinemas and theatres, amateur dramatics companies in abundance, poetry classes and literature appreciation societies. For example, Wimborne hosts a Speakeasy on the last Monday of each month when a diverse group of people meet to read & discuss works on a particular theme which they have either written or chosen from long-time favourites penned by someone else. This was initiated by the late and much missed Ray Sargant, a self-effacing professional story-teller of the highest order. He performed one-man shows to packed houses across the country recounting the lives and tales of Hardy and T. E. Lawrence as well as leading musical events espousing the folklore of Dorset. Then there are the writing circles.
It’s a funny thing, this literature business: just consider where all the big events occur: Hay on Wye, the Arvon Centre, Dartington Hall and all points anywhere that are nowhere near a city. They say that everyone has a book in them you only have to look at the tradition of oral story-telling to appreciate the vast untapped resources that are out there. There are opportunities to write for fun or money the year round but the literary world does have a season: between April and September, there are a multitude of creative writing competitions that can bring wannabe Rowlings to the fore. Of these, the Bridport Prize reigns supreme.
Now, I don’t want to do Bridport any disfavours: it’s a nice enough little market town close to West Bay and the fossilized Jurassic coastline, but you might well pass it in the blink of an eye if you’re heading to the delights of Lyme Regis or, heaven forbid, venturing into Devon. Yet Bridport is the centre of the literary universe. The Bridport Prize is the biggest creative writing competition in the English language attracting upwards of five thousand entries annually from all over the world. Year after year it boasts celebrated judges and offers its winners the fame that only those associated with the X-factor could hope for. Ok, I’ve unnecessarily lowered the tone but the world of high culture is pretty devoid of Simon Cowells and Alan Sugars. However, Bridport has been responsible for the emergence of several great writers including the gifted Kate Atkinson. Her winning short story a few years ago went on to be the opening chapter of Behind The Scenes At The Museum; the first of her glorious best-selling novels.
A trawl through the various websites that offer information about the competition season will leave you reeling as, inevitably, they tell you that the Bridport is the toughest of them all. A publishing contract is guaranteed along with a prize of £5000 and the prestigious nature of the event will ensure undying respect in the literary world. However, the great thing about this Dorset based event is that, due to the high calibre of the judging, there are none of the usual mundane criteria: forget your beginning, middle and end they’re just looking for inspired writing which ensures that anyone has a chance. So, ignore the BBC story-writing competitions that overtly seek agents and publishers. Down here in deepest Dorset we have the Real Thing. Go on give it a go.
