Award winning Zambian author, Ellen Banda-Aaku, has made the 18-person shortlist for the 2012 Commonwealth Writers Book Prize, with her novel, Patchwork. Banda-Aaku is currently on residency at Cove Park.

Awarded for best first book, the Commonwealth Book Prize is open to writers who have had their first novel (full length work of fiction) published between 1 January and 31 December. Regional winners receive £2,500 and the overall winner receives £10,000. Chair of the Commonwealth Book Prize in 2011, Margaret Busby said “The significance of a prize such as this becomes greater with each year. It is vital to encourage and celebrate the talent of newly emerging novelists whose words have the potential to inspire and enrich the entire literary world. Searching out and promoting the best first books of fiction internationally is a serious task, a great honour and a wonderful challenge.”

Ellen has already won the Macmillian Writers Prize, The inaugural Penguin Prize for African Writing and the Commonwealth Short Story Prize for her work. She comes to Cove Park as part of our Writers of the African Commonwealth series in partnership with Creative Scotland’s Creative Futures.

Related Artist's Profiles:

• Ellen Banda-Aaku

Previous Cove Park resident Maria Fusco will present a new project at Whitechapel Gallery, London, next month. This new sound work features extracts from her novel ‘Sailor’, a work the writer developed during her 2011 residency.

Related Artist's Profiles:

• Maria Fusco

Calling all poets: a unique opportunity at Cove Park to develop your performance and find your true voice.

Applications are welcomed from poets to take part in this course from April 2nd – 7th 2012. The deadline for applications is Friday December 8th 2011. For a course description and other details please email Polly Clark on polly.clark@covepark.org.

Click here to view the flyer for this course, and go to ’2011′ on this website to find out more about the 2011 course.

A new solo exhibition by artist Deirdre Nelson ‘Contemporary Souvenir’ opens this Friday 7pm at Sirius Arts Centre . Cobh. Co Cork Ireland. With an interest in social history Nelson has  explored the colourful town of Cobh and its stories of lace makers, knitters, ships, emigration, and the sea. The exhibition runs from 14th October – 13th November.

The Jerwood Charitable Foundation who generously support Cove Park, invite artists from across making disciplines to submit proposals for Jerwood Makers Open, a £37,500 exhibition and commissioning opportunity from Jerwood Visual Arts. For more information about this opportunity see the Jerwood Makers Open website.