Falmouth poet Olive Mills beats 600 entries to a national prize

More than 600 poems landed in front of the judges of a brand-new national prize. The one they picked as the winner was written by a 24-year-old from Falmouth, and they called her work “immediately arresting”.

Olive Mills has been named overall winner of the first Matthew Lanyon Poetry Prize, beating entries from across the UK with her poem ‘What am I Doing at the Bottom of the Ocean’. The judges described its richness as “intoxicating”.

From Penzance to a national stage

Olive grew up in Penzance and now lives in Falmouth. Two years ago she won a Young & Talented Cornwall (Y&TC) creative writing award, and she credits it with her success as a writer since.

The award came with £1,000 of funding. It also partnered her with the internationally acclaimed poet Ella Frears as a mentor.

“Having Ella Frears as my Y&TC mentor was amazing,” said Olive. “She really helped me progress a lot in quite a small amount of time. We had four sessions and I would come to her with pages of my poetry that we went through together.

“I remember her pointing to one poem and saying that was the best because it was the most honest. Realising it’s okay to have your own voice made me change the direction of my poetry for the better.”

300 kilometres on foot

Olive’s work often explores landscape, ritual and the body. She spent her Y&TC prize money on walking the Camino de Santiago in northwest Spain.

“It’s slowness that helps you find the magic in things and the experience of just eating, walking and sleeping over something like 300 kilometres made me so attentive to the smallest things,” she said.

Apply before you feel ready

Her advice to other young writers in Cornwall is direct.

“I’m so grateful to Y&TC and would certainly recommend that other young creative writers in Cornwall put themselves forward and apply, even before they feel ready. The world rewards talent but it also rewards audaciousness. Give it a go. You don’t know what might happen.”

The fund first launched in 2005 as the Lord Lieutenant’s Fund for Youth and is now known as Young & Talented Cornwall. It aims to help young people who show an outstanding talent in music, sports, science, writing or the arts.

“I congratulate Olive on her extraordinary success as a poet and look forward to hearing more about her achievements in the months and years to come,” said Colonel Sir Edward Bolitho, Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall.

The Lord Lieutenant added that the Y&TC team is made up of volunteers and sponsors who believe Cornish talent should be nurtured and given the chance to excel. “It’s not just about funding programmes or equipment but, as in Olive’s case, building confidence through one-to-one mentorship with experts and fuelling ambition,” he said.

Hearing the winning poem

Olive will read her prize-winning poem at this year’s Y&TC Creative Writing awards presentation on Thursday 22 October at Falmouth University.

Anyone who can’t make it can read ‘What am I Doing at the Bottom of the Ocean’ on the Matthew Lanyon website. Details of the awards and how to apply are on the Young & Talented Cornwall website.