What topic could be more meaningful to us as a species at this time? It affects us as individuals, as communities, and impacts all species locally and globally. Never has sustainability been more important as a concept than now, and quite probably will remain so long into the future. Never has change been so key in the survival of our collective future. The place of literature and the arts in this discussion is as vital as any scientific discovery too, as it is only through story and shared narrative that the necessary change in understanding will happen. Story, whether poetic or dramatic, is unique in that it is borne of a mind and yet has the power to transform and change the minds of others. This anthology has such stories and contains, for the first time, stories written by children alongside those written by adults. A timely reminder, one hopes, that it is an intergenerational approach that will craft a story of sustainability in which we can all believe as we strive for a positive environmental future.

The Cheshire Prize for Literature was inaugurated in 2003 as the High Sheriff’s Cheshire Prize for Literature. It is administered by the University of Chester in collaboration with Storyhouse. The 2021 competition was for poetry, short fiction, children’s literature and scriptwriting inspired by sustainability and this anthology contains the entries shortlisted for the prize, including the winners and the runners-up. Details of the prize are available at www.chester.ac.uk/literatureprize.

Edited by Simon E. Poole and Harry Parkin

Contributors

Ella Catherine Barrett
Aurora B. Blue
Esme Alice Blue
Cathy Bryant
Eleanor Cullen
Laura Hall
Daniel Johnson
Connor Johnston
Dannielle Jones
Helen Kay
Eva Mallouris
Sophia Morris-Jones
Eve Naden
Molly Nash
Maia Russell
Ben Saunders
Emily Simpson
Yvonne Taylor
Jenna Thirtle
Beth Westbrook
Philip Williams

Bibliographic information

Simon E. Poole and Harry Parkin (Editors), It Means the World to Us: Writing from the Cheshire Prize for Literature 2021, 2022, ISBN 978-1-910481-18-9, £10.99. The e-book (ISBN 978-1-910481-45-5) will be available through Google Play and library collections such as ebrary, EBSCO, Ebook Central, and Gardners.

For more information on University of Chester Press books please visit: www.chester.ac.uk/university-press