CLiPPA 2023

On Monday, I had the greatest pleasure of attending CLiPPA (The Centre for Literacy in Primary Education Poetry Award) 2023. It was a fabulous occasion- an excellent chance to meet up with friends and celebrate the wonders of poetry! Chris Riddell, the chair of judges, introduced the event and accompanied the proceedings with his brilliant drawings.

The shortlisted authors each came to the stage (with the exception of Connie Wanek who was filmed!) and shared one of their poems. Each was followed by a performance from children of shadowing schools, making the occasion all the more special! The short listed authors were Joseph Coelho for ‘Blow a Kiss, Catch a Kiss’, Ted Kooser and Connie Wanek for ‘Marshmallow Clouds’, Matt Goodfellow for ‘Let’s Chase the Stars Together’, Nicola Davies for ‘Choose Love’ and Nikita Gill for ‘These are the Words’.

‘Choose Love’ was Highly Commended and Nicola accepted the award, complimenting the work of illustrator, Petr Horáček. The overall winners were Ted Kooser and Connie Wanek with ‘Marshmallow Clouds’ and illustrator, Richard Jones, collected the trophy on their behalf. Chris Riddell said that the quality of the poetry impressed all the judges.

It was a joy to then be able to spend time with everyone after the ceremony. So many lovely people- I had a fantastic time and I can’t wait for next year!