Richard Hillary Prize Winners 2021

Students Kwan Ann Tan and Gabriel Blackwell have shared first prize in this year's Richard Hillary Prize for creative writing, for their short stories Oracle and The Gentleman’s Game.

The annual competition was established in memory of of the late Richard Hillary, former member of Trinity College and author of The Last Enemy, which was a bestseller after the Second World War.

The Hillary Prize, worth £500, is awarded for the best piece of creative writing by a Trinity student. This year's competition was judged by Elleke Boehmer, Professor of World Literature in English, Wolfson College, Dr Kantik Ghosh and Dr Stefano-Maria Evangelista, Fellows in English at Trinity College.

On winning the prize, Kwan Ann Tan says: ‘I’d like to thank the judges for choosing my story as one of the joint winners this year. As most of my work focuses on portraying life in Malaysia, it feels incredible to be able to share these stories on an international platform.’ 

Gabriel Blackwell adds: ‘I enjoy writing fiction, especially as something to focus on during lockdown, and it’s very exciting to have won this prize.’ 

Alaina Bullen and Alex Schweich were joint runners-up and have received an honourable mention for their stories Three Boys at War and As Snow Melts, respectively.

The winning story and runners-up are available to read below:

Oracle, Kwan Ann Tan

The Gentleman’s Game, Gabriel Blackwell