Nature and Place 2020 winners announced

We have now received the results of the Nature and Place Poetry Competition back from Pascale Petit and are delighted to announce that the winners are:

1st Prize of £1000 – ‘Hermit Crab in a Doll’s Head’ by Cindy Botha

2nd Prize of £500 – ‘Insects’ by P Q R Anderson

3rd Prize of £250 – ‘Rain Wolf’ by Jim Lloyd

Additional Prize of a personal tour with Mark Cocker of his most cherished wildlife places in East Anglia – ‘Hericium’ by Ella Duffy

The four prize winning poems will be published in issue 94 of The Rialto.

Pascale also selected five highly commended poems:

‘Something to show for it’ by Luke Allan

‘Breakdown’ by Luke Yates

‘Natural History’ by Luke Yates

‘Round-leaved Crowfoot at Hopton Castle’ by Jo Peters

‘Verticality’ by Jemma Borg

It was a fantastic year for the competition with an amazing abundance of wonderful writing. It really is a special thing, making a difference to nature and poetry. Many thanks to Pascale and Mark Cocker for their generosity in working with us and indeed to all of you who entered.

We will shortly be announcing details of the online event that will feature a reading by Pascale Petit and our winners. This is planned for Thursday 24th September. Further details will be posted here in due course.

Long list

Please be aware the long list is only representative of a part of the process of selection and does not include all entrants. The judging is a difficult process of elimination, from the thousands of poems received one hundred or so poems go on to the long list, a short list is then compiled and from that a list of winners and highly commended poems.

We are grateful for all submissions, the standard this year was exceptional.

Nature and Place Longlisted entries 2020

Bewl Water	Adam Goodyer
Aperture Dawn	Adam Goodyer
As a mother, I must explain	Aggie Rothon
The Garden Buffaloes	Alasdair Reid
vvenus vs power (men)	Alexandra Tiss
On Receiving A Text Message Containing a Bird Photo	Alice Wickenden
Dove Shells	Ann Kaiser
The Typical Univalve Mollusk	Ann Kaiser
Alms	Ann Kaiser
Moswetuset Hummock	Anna Selby
Swimming at Muir Cheilteach	Anna Selby
Creature	Anna Selby
Macaws	Anthony Lawrence
The Watchtower	Anthony Lawrence
There are too many foxes in London	Bernard Ferguson
Dear Horticultural Mother-in-law…	Caleb Parkin
If the Earth is My Mother	Caleb Parkin
Young animal	Caleb Parkin
Red Tail	Cecelia Ward
Baby Swimming	Charlotte Eichler
Swimming between Islands	Charlotte Eichler
Portrait of Covid-19 as a Greenland Shark	Cheryl Pearson
The Crow	Chris Boyland
Another Empty Room	Chris Heath
Hermit Crab in a Doll’s Head	Cindy Botha
Lambs	Claudine Toutoungi
Lammas Land	Claudine Toutoungi
Queensland Blue	Diane Mulholland
Swift	Elizabeth-Jane Burnett
Hericium	Ella Duffy
I want to be a jellyfish with spots	Fathima Zahra
Now the eyes are dim	Graham Burchell
The Carving Around the Entrance	Ian Dudley
To Look at Trees	Ian McEwen
The Amazon Speaks on the Election of Bolsonaro	Isabelle Thompson
Redlisted	Jane Routh
Little rivers feed bigger rivers	Jemma Borg
Verticality	Jemma Borg
Even this is yours	Jennifer McLean
Bud	Jennifer McLean
Aire and Wharfe II	Jennifer McLean
Koonaburra etc etc	Jenny Pollak
Rain Wolf	Jim Lloyd
Round-Leaved Crowfoot at Hopton Castle	Jo Peters
The Emergency	Joanna Guthrie
Florida Keys State Wildlife Refuge	Joanna Guthrie
Skirk	John White
Gironata	John White
Sheep at Avebury Stones	Josephine Corcoran
The Stables	Joy Winkler
Allotment	Kathleen Jones
A Wedding	Kathryn Bevis
Plenty	Keith Hutson
Ghosts	Kirsten Irving
Small Human Settlements	Kirsten Irving
In the land of Vampires	Kirsten Irving
For Other Bees Do Not Visit This Flower	Lesley Saunders
No flittin’	Linda Goulden
On never having seen a murmuration, then seeing two in two days	Lindsay Waller-Wilkinson
Razorbill	Liz Byrne
The Deer	Lorna Scott
Badger	Lorraine Mariner
Something to show for it	Luke Allan
Natural History	Luke Yates
Breakdown	Luke Yates
Teaching Trees in Priory Park	Marina Sanchez
Pottering	Mark Haworth-Booth
Northam Churchyard	Mark Haworth-Booth
Thirteen Birds	Mark McGuinness
Chrysalis	Mark McGuinness
San Ignacio Lagoon	Mark Roper
Grayling	Matthew Brown
The Obelisk	Matthew Brown
A time of ending	Meg Mooney
Cuttlefish	Meredi Ortega
Bewdley 16th February 2020	Miriam Obrey
Fly	Miriam Obrey
Hunting the Wren	Miriam Obrey
Wrens	Miriam Obrey
With The Chilean Climber in Puerto Tranquilo, Patagonia	Monica Joy Fara
The Endangered Naturalist	Morag Smith
Insects	P. Q. R. Anderson
Things Happen in Caves	Pat Winslow
The Point	Patrick Errington
On the Wing	Paul Green
Only Goldfinches	Paul Howarth
Bluebell Season	Polly Atkin
13 thoughts on the pasture grasses of Val Taleggio	Rachael Mead
It won’t be a normal year	Ramona Herdman
School reunion	Rob Miles
Snakes have sex too	Rod Whitworth
Fer-De-Lance Trafficker	Samuel Prince
Reasons Why a young protester will resist until death	Sarah Watkinson
When you left (2)	Sharon Flynn
Half-rotten, half-new	Simon Maddrell
An Owl to Emulate	Sophie Herxheimer
Big and little Dippers	Sophie Herxheimer
Siren Dahlias in the Park	Sophie Herxheimer
Snow Queen	Sue Burge
Rock Me	Susie Wilson
Survival of the Fittest	Susie Wilson
Still Life With Octopus	Tania Hershman
Trying to Identify	Thomasson Taylor
I Am the Silent Lamb They Left Behind	Thomasson Taylor
Nile Perch	Tom Kelly
Arms wide open letting go	Virginia Astley
You smelt of woodsmoke	Virginia Astley
Choosing the right moment to ask	Zillah Bowes