The winners of the 2024 Janet Coats Memorial Prizes are Mariya Javed, an S3 pupil at St Benedict’s High School and Catherine Wilson Garry.
The judging panel for the prestigious prize included the acclaimed Scottish-Caribbean poet and performer, Courtney Stoddart; local poet Mairi Murphy, winner of the 2016 Alistair Buchan Prize for poetry; and the Tannahill Makar for Renfrewshire Shaun Moore.
75 poems were submitted in the over 18s category and 67 were submitted in the under 18s category by pupils attending Renfrewshire schools. The judges had the difficult task of whittling it down to five in each category.
Motivated by the theme of this year’s festival – Imagine Something Different – Catherine Wilson Garry’s poem, entitled If they ask me for hope, I say is her ode to the ‘well-worn floors’ of community centres – town halls, libraries, cafés and charity shops.
When thinking about the theme of Imagine something different, Catherine put forward this poem in the hope that when we can feel overwhelmed by the state of the world, we don’t have to look far to find humanity at its best. The seeds of a better world are already growing.
Mariya Javed’s poem entitled To My Brother is a beautiful and heartfelt tribute to her late brother.
Photo: Mariya Javed – winner of the Under 18s category (Janet Coats Memorial Prize with the judges – Mairi Murphy, Shaun Moore and Courtney Stoddart
Photo Credit: Renfrewshire Council
Photo: Catherine Wilson Garry – winner of the 0ver 18s category (Janet Coats Memorial Prize with the judges – Courtney Stoddart, Mairi Murphy and Shaun Moore
Photo Credit: Renfrewshire Council
Catherine Wilson Garry, winner of the over 18s category will receive a cash prize of £850. She said: “I am absolutely delighted to have won this year’s Janet Coats Memorial Prize. I was totally blown away by the other poems on the shortlist, so it’s a total honour to have been chosen as the winner. I’m so thankful to the judges and other poets, and beyond delighted to hear the work of the younger writers who prove that Scotland’s ability to imagine and speak for a better world is strong and alive in its young people.”
Mariya Javed, winner of the under 18s category will receive a cash prize of £50 plus a £200 donation to St Benedict’s school library supported by the Peter Coats Charitable Trust.
Shaun Moore, Tannahill Makar said: “The judges thoroughly enjoyed reading the shortlisted poems. It was a tricky task to select winners, but made pleasurable as we relished the impressive writing skills on show, the variety of styles and emotions they evoked for us.
“We found the Young People’s submissions particularly inspiring as many writers used the Imagine Something Different prompt to show great empathy for others and concern for political and environmental issues. Our thanks to OneRen for promoting creative writing and to all the poets who shared their work.”
Andrew Givan, Children & Young People Co-ordinator, OneRen added: “Thank you to all the young people who submitted poems this year to the Young Person’s Prize. We were so impressed by the creativity, expressiveness, and the many different poetic styles on display on the theme of Imagine something different. We hope they will all keep writing as they have so much to offer!”
Headline image: Catherine Wilson Garry and Mariya Javed