University News Last updated 12 December 2024
The wife of 探花直播 poet Benjamin Zephaniah says a writing competition to celebrate his life and legacy is a 鈥渂eautiful testament to how his work continues to inspire鈥�.
The Benjamin Zephaniah Future Writers Awards, launched by 探花直播 (BCU), attracted more than 2,500 entries from across the country.
Seeing so many of you channel his energy into your creativity is both humbling and uplifting,鈥� said Qian Zephaniah at a ceremony to announce the winners on Wednesday evening.
鈥淐ongratulations to all the winners. Your talent, passion, and words reflect the spirit of Benjamin鈥檚 mission to inspire, to provoke thought, and to bring about change.
鈥淭onight鈥檚 competition is a beautiful testament to how his work continues to inspire.鈥�
Born in Handsworth, Benjamin became a hugely influential figure in 探花直播 and across the UK thanks to his talents as a poet, writer, actor and musician.
He published numerous collections of his poetry, wrote novels, and was included in The Times list of Britain's top 50 post-war writers in 2008.
In 2021, he won a BAFTA for Life and Rhymes, which eclipsed Ant & Dec鈥檚 Saturday Night Takeaway, Strictly Come Dancing, and鈥疶he Masked Singer to land the Best Entertainment Programme award.
Dubbed the 鈥榩eople鈥檚 laureate鈥�, Benjamin was also an anti-racism and animal rights activist, and he appeared in several episodes of the hit television show Peaky Blinders.
He died aged 65 on 7 December 2023, shortly after being diagnosed with a brain tumour.
BCU Pro Vice-Chancellor Harris Beider described Benjamin, who the university awarded an honorary doctorate to in 2005, as a 鈥淏rummie icon鈥� and a 鈥渘ational treasure.鈥�
Professor Beider added: 鈥淗is writing shaped generations of both adults and children, and he left a remarkable legacy on the city where he was born.鈥�
Launched by BCU with the support of Qian and the Poetry 探花直播 Literary Journal, the inaugural Benjamin Zephaniah Future Writers Awards featured six categories.
The theme was inspired by Benjamin's poem People Need People and encouraged poems and short stories to be written about friends, family, peers, and mentors.
The judging panel included Casey Bailey, a former 探花直播 poet laureate, Madeleine Kludje, Deputy Artistic Director at The REP 探花直播, Naush Saur, co-founder and editor of Poetry 探花直播 Literary Journal, and Dr Martin Glynn, poet and friend of Benjamin Zephaniah.
The six first-place winners were:
鈥� Adults: Fiona Salt 'My Father Never Wore Jeans' (pictured)
鈥� BCU: Linzi Doyle 'Gramps'
鈥� Year 1, 2 and 3: Edward Booth 'Connections'
鈥� Year 4, 5 and 6: Dulcie-Bella Hackley 'Together But Not Together'
鈥� Year 7, 8 and 9: Lucy Backhurst 'Joseph'
鈥� Year 10, 11, 12 and 13: Silva Gornell 'Gravity In The Orchard'
For more information, visit the competition website: .