Press release - UK’s first genomics short story competition – winner named
Released: 08 July 2009
Embargoed 00:01 Thursday 9 July 2009
Edinburgh based writer, Ben Smart, was today named as the winner of the UK’s only (to date) genomics short story competition.
Ben’s previously unpublished story, ‘The Test’, about an artist who paints very detailed close-up portraits of his father who has died of a genetic illness wins the 1st prize of £500. ‘The Test’ will be published alongside other winners and runners up on www.genomicsnetwork.ac.uk/forum and in a special printed collection to be launched in August at 2009’s Edinburgh International Book Festival.
The competition, was run by Pippa Goldschmidt, writer in residence with the ESRC Genomics Forum. Authors were invited to let their imaginations lose on the weird and wonderful sounding Zipper, Mad/Max, Hip/Hop, Agnostic, Mindbomb, Tigger and Disheveled Zinc Finger genes and write a story inspired by genetics.
Entrants were also encouraged to consider how, and if, we understand the impact of genetic information on our everyday lives and whether our understanding of who we are is affected by the knowledge that we share so much of our genetic makeup with other animals as well as vegetables such as fruit flies, mice and even pumpkins.
The competition’s judging panel were: Lin Anderson (crime writer), Dr Joan Haran (social scientist at Cesagen, Cardiff University), Dr Elizabeth Patton (MRC Human Genetics Unit & The University of Edinburgh) and Professor Simon van Heyningen (vice principal for teaching and learning, and biochemist, Edinburgh University).
Pippa Goldschmidt, commented,
“Knowledge about genetics impacts on almost every aspect of our lives. But do we understand the impact? And what should we make of it? . Stories can be a powerful tool in helping us make sense of genetics and our competition inspired a fascinating mix of over 100 entries.
"The overall winner, ‘The Test’, was felt by the judges to be both very well written and a moving exploration of the impact of testing for a genetic illness. The second prize went to ‘Most Likely To…’ which has a quirky humour enjoyed by the judges, as well as a serious point about knowledge being a source of power and enabling people to direct their lives. The judges were unable to agree on a single third prize, which is why we ended up awarding two; to ‘Phrenology, or the Causes of Crime’ and ‘The Original Mike’s Coffee Shop’. The former is a historic cautionary tale of the fallacies of science, and the latter may make you look twice at those baristas in your nearest Starbucks….”
Lin Anderson added,
“This is a very exciting competition. My own writing has drawn upon genetics and I think there is a huge interest in this subject. I was very interested to read the wide variety of responses to the challenge and to note that on the whole, writers concentrated on the perceived negative impact of the science. Perhaps writers just concentrate on the negative aspects of anything because that’s where the drama is more likely to be found, or perhaps it’s indicative of a general fear of the impact of genetics.”
The ESRC Genomics Forum is about to embark on another creative writing project, the Human Genre Project www.humangenreproject.com which launches in August 2009.
Contact name: Emma-Elizabeth Capewell, 0131 651 4746, emma.capewell@ed.ac.uk
Note to Editors:
Notes to editors
1. Further information about the competition, full text of the winning stories and the judges comments can be viewed here.
2. Following the success of our artist in residence project (Alistair Gentry, 2007), the Forum recruited 2 writers in residence – science fiction author, Ken Macleod, and Pippa Goldschmidt - in 2009 to work with us on a variety of creative projects. Further information at www.genomicsnetwork.ac.uk/forum
3. Established in August 2004, the ESRC Genomics Policy and Research Forum is a novel initiative in the field of social science research. As part of the ESRC Genomics Network (EGN), the Forum acts to integrate the diverse strands of social science research within and beyond the EGN; to develop links between social scientists and scientists working across the entire range of genomic science and technology; and to connect research in this area to policy makers, business, the media and civil society in the UK and abroad.
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