Swansea PhD student wins 2009 Impress Prize for New Writers
Roshi Fernando, a PhD student in Creative Writing at Swansea University, has won the 2009 Impress Prize for New Writers
Roshi was awarded the prize for her composite novel, Homesick, which comprises a series of interlinked short stories about a community of Sri Lankan immigrants in London.
Roshi will receive an advance of £500 and a publishing contract from Impress Books. Homesick will be published in Autumn 2010.
The panel of judges included Professor Martin Sorrell from the University of Exeter's department of French, Nigel Cavill, manager of Blackwell's Bookshop in Exeter and Tamsin Ballard of Impress Books. The chair of the judging panel, Martin Sorrell, said: "The judges were impressed not just by the novel's bold construction and the assurance of the writing, but also by the topical importance of its subject matter".
Professor Stevie Davies, FRSL, is Director of Swansea University's Creative Writing programme. She said: "We are immensely proud of Roshi's achievement in winning this prestigious prize: she is a virtuoso writer, whose work is distinguished by unique flair, a powerful style and disciplined artistic intelligence. Mentoring research students of Roshi's calibre is a sheer joy. It's a deep satisfaction to see Creative Writing at Swansea going from strength to strength".
Roshi said: "I'm overwhelmed to have won the 2009 Impress Prize and to know that my novel will soon be in print. Professor Stevie Davies has given me invaluable support and advice, and the Creative Writing team at Swansea is a family I feel honoured to belong to."
The Impress Prize is now in its third year. Entries are now being accepted for the 2010 prize; for further information, please visit www.impress-books.co.uk/prize
For further information about studying Creative Writing at Swansea, please visit www.swansea.ac.uk/english.