Dorothy Koomson hails 2022 CFWA winner as ‘something special’

HONOURED: (L-R) Yvonne McLeod, Nnadi Samuel and Oluwaseun Olayiwola

LONDON TEACHER Yvonne McLeod has been honoured by the 2022 Creative Future Writers’ Awards (CFWA) for under-represented writers.

McLeod’s winning story, Flibbertigibbet, inspired by her Jamaican heritage, is set on a slave planation with themes of belonging, superstition and betrayal.

A former music journalist and children’s book reviewer, the recognition is a particular feather in McLeod’s cap as her stock rises as an emerging writer.

Her work was described by judge and bestselling novelist Dorothy Koomson as ‘something special’.

Also recognised this year were Oluwaseun Olayiwola, a Nigerian-American choreographer, poet, and critic based in London and Dorset based Nnadi Samuel.

Olayiwola was Highly Commended for his poem ‘there is nothing like that black voice!’, while Samuel won the Bronze Poetry Award for his poem based on lived experiences of gun crime.

Migration, belonging, human connections, resilience and lived experiences of autism and gun crime are amongst the themes explored by the twelve winning entries of the CFWA.

With a mission to make publishing more diverse and representative of the world we live in, the CFWA has a successful track record in discovering and nurturing talented new underrepresented writers who traditionally lack opportunities due to mental health issues, disability, identity, health or social circumstance.

Koomson enthsued: ‘It’s such an honour to be judging the Creative Future Writers’ Award again.

“I was blown away by the range and depth of the pieces submitted. Each of the stories and poems that made the shortlist were entertaining, unique and thought-provoking – something that is usually very difficult for writers to achieve at this stage of their writing journey.

“Flibbertigibbet was something special.

“You are immediately pulled into the story, effected by the narrative and transported to another world by the descriptive writing. I wanted to keep reading, to have more of this story. Just beautiful.

“Flibbertigibbet was a wonderful winner, although all those on the shortlist would have made equally worthy winners. This is such a brilliant prize and I am grateful to be involved with it.’

The winning submissions, alongside work by the 2022 Award judges, are published in an anthology available in hard copy (and in future as an eBook), which can be purchased from – Anthologies – Creative Future.

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