Island Authors Share Top Prize At Book Awards

Two Isle of Wight authors have shared the top prize at this year’s Isle of Wight Book Awards.

Kathryn Rossati’s Naturally Nic/k and David Gilbey’s Waterlands were jointly named Book of the Year, with each receiving a share of the £500 prize.

The awards were held at the Island Sailing Club in Cowes, celebrating writers across fiction, non-fiction, children’s books and poetry.

Debra Collins won the Fiction category with The Feathered Warriors of Bletchley Park, while David Gilbey also took the Non-Fiction prize for Waterlands.

Kathryn Rossati won the Children’s category, while Robin Ford took the inaugural Marion Carmichael Poetry Award for Jellyfish.

The new poetry prize was established in memory of Island poet Marion Carmichael, with her family attending the ceremony.

The event also raised £435 for the Isle of Wight Youth Trust through a raffle and the sale of judges’ copies of the submitted books.