St Mary's Alumna Jess Kidd wins Costa Short Story Award - as University Announces Book Signing on Campus

Alumna of St Mary’s University, Twickenham's Creative Writing MA Programme, Jess Kidd, has won the Costa Short Story Award for, Dirty Little Fishes, the story of a young Irish girl in London accompanying her mother on visits to a dying woman.

The Award, which was presented to Jess last night (January 31st), was part of a celebration of the most outstanding books of the year, from authors based in the UK and Ireland. The story was voted by the public as top of a shortlist compiled by a panel of judges.

Professor Karen Sanders, Head of St Mary’s School of Arts and Humanities, which counts creative and professional writing undergraduate and postgraduate programmes as part of its portfolio, commented, “On behalf of St Mary’s I’d like to offer warm and well-deserved congratulations to Jess.

“The shining achievements of our alumni and academics reflect on and inspire our School and our entire University. Their success underpins our drive to create a supportive, creative and vibrant learning environment for our students.”

In continued celebration of Jess’ professional success, St Mary’s will be hosting a Book Signing for her first novel, Himself, on the University’s Strawberry Hill campus on February 14^th from 6.30pm.

The event, which will also feature a Q&A with the author, is free and those interested can register to attend by contacting Jonathan Gibbs at jonathan.gibbs@stmarys.ac.uk.

Jess’ first novel, Himself, was published in late 2016 by Canongate and was shortlisted for the Irish Book Awards 2016. Her second novel, Hoarder, will be published in early 2018. Jess joins a noteworthy list of Costa Award winners, with St Mary’s creative writing lecturer Christie Watson previously winning the First Novel Category in 2011 for Tiny Sunbirds Far Away.

Dr Russell Schechter, the author of seven published novels and over 20 short stories, who tutored Jess throughout the duration of her study at St Mary’s added, “Jess is an exceptional talent. It was clear from her first work as an MA student to the brilliant, early version of Himself she wrote for her PhD that she was going to be a star in publishing. We couldn’t be happier for her or prouder of her amazing achievements.”

St Mary’s School of Arts and Humanities aims to inspire a new generation of students to become creative entrepreneurs, equipped with critical and subject-specific skills to support them in their future careers.