A NATIONAL book prize which is based in Rubery, has been awarded to a selection of children’s poetry designed to be read aloud.

The Rubery Book Awards gave its poetry prize to another Midlands creative in the form of Wolverhampton poet Emma Purshouse and illustrator Catherine Pascall Moore, with their poetry collection ‘I Once Knew a Poem Who Wore a Hat’.

The Rubery Prize seeks the best books by independent writers, self-published authors and books published by independent presses, and this year saw the competition judged by MAN Booker shortlisted author, Clare Morrall, poet and Stand winner Jeff Phelps, and author, dramatist and lecturer, William Gallagher.

William said: “"What you see very quickly as a judge is that the best books seem to boom off the page: Emma Purshouse’s writing is alive and full of verve. Right from the title, you felt this was a friend talking to you, delighting you, challenging you. Technically it’s a particularly well designed book too. So it’s a combination of being energetic and a pleasure to read.”

The Rubery Prize is now a well-established name in the publishing world, and this year the prize pot was approximately £1,500, with Emma’s book going up against books of poetry for adults in its category.

Emma added: “Thank you to everybody who helped with the initial Kickstarter campaign to get this book off the ground.

“It's a beautifully illustrated, dyslexia friendly, children's poetry book, with top tips for learning and performing poems, aimed at 6-10 year olds and it's available from Fair Acre Press and all good book shops, oh, and me at gigs, so stop me and buy one.”