Poet Paul Carney wins Pat Kavanagh Award 2015

Goldsmiths alumnus Paul Carney has been announced as the winner of the 2015 Pat Kavanagh Award for his outstanding poetry sequence, The Empty Horizon.

Paul, who graduated from MA in Creative and Life Writing in September, was the only poet amongst a group of fifteen finalists who read extracts from their work at an event on Wednesday 14 January.

His linked series of poems focused on a visually impaired woman who writes children’s books and dreams of escaping her small seaside town.

The Pat Kavanagh Award, now in its sixth year, is presented annually to the most outstanding student on the MA Creative Writing course at Goldsmiths. The £500 prize is named in honour of the literary agent Pat Kavanagh, who passed away in 2008.

Students who received distinctions on the course submitted their work to United Agents, a leading literary and talent agency, whose judging panel selected the best piece. 

After being presented with his award, Paul said he was “encouraged and emboldened to keep writing” and thanked his tutors and fellow students.

On announcing the winner, Sarah Ballard of United Agents said:  “Pat Kavanagh had a huge passion for supporting new writers and finding new voices. It’s with that spirit that we collaborate with Creative Writing at Goldsmiths and remember Pat’s work.

"It is always a privilege to be given this access to the students’ work, encompassing as it does intimate memoir, short stories, novels and poetry. There was much that was memorable this year – and we were incredibly moved by Paul’s work, in particular.”