Chloe Hanks is the winner of our V.Press Prize for Poetry 2020, joining previous winners Margaret Adkins 2018 and Kelly Williams 2019. Chloe’s pamphlet, May We All Be Artefacts, will be edited by the V Press editor Sarah Leavesley and launched at our Hive Library in 2021.

Chloe says, “I do not think I could possibly be more excited and grateful to be able to announce I have been named the V. Press Poetry prize winner of 2020. My debut poetry pamphlet, May We All Be Artefacts is forthcoming with V Press in 2021. These poems were written to comprise my contemporary poetry project and the poems reflect the practice of preserving humanity in artefacts and how, once removed from their context, these artefacts relate to the moment they capture. Poetry has become my favourite way to tell stories.

The format of a pamphlet is one of my favourite things to use to explore themes and movement, and as a constantly evolving genre there is so much room for innovation and experimentation in poetry. This will hopefully be the first of many projects that I get to share and I am so honoured to have been given this start and the opportunity to work with a publisher I have so admired throughout the course of my university degree.

With special thanks to lecturer Ruth Stacey for overseeing the project with such kind and encouraging words and for working so tirelessly to create such a welcoming community for poets to find their place.”

On her website, editor Sarah Leavesley says, “This year’s winning portfolio for the V. Press Prize for Poetry is ‘May We All Be Artefacts’ – chosen from the University of Worcester’s shortlist of five for its striking and thought-provoking imagery, focal slants and choice of words. These are poems crafted with a painter’s eye for vivid details and a poet’s ear for language, its sounds and music. The scenes brought to life feel real, relevant and resonant.”

Asking our course leader Dr Jack McGowan for a quote he said, “As the recipient of our 2020 V. Press Prize for Poetry, Chloe has demonstrated her talent, hard work, and formidable skills as a poet of much promise. I am delighted by her success, and I am looking forward to reading her finished publication which will be released in 2021. Chloe has been an exceptional student, and I have no doubt that she will become a rising star on the contemporary poetry scene.”