The Plaza Prizes, a writing competition offering a £20,000 prize fund, appears to have shut down, leaving winners and judges unpaid. Among those affected is Booker prize-winning novelist Damon Galgut, who described the competition as a “scam” after not receiving his promised £1,500 fee for judging the fiction section.
Anthony Joseph, winner of the 2022 TS Eliot poetry prize, also says he was not paid £1,250 for judging the audio poetry prize. He has taken a case to the small claims court. The competition was founded by Simon Kerr, a writer who previously worked for the University of Hull and ran another writing award that prompted a complaint over late payment.
Several winners say their entries were withdrawn after being accused of using AI, allegations they strenuously deny. Peter Doolan, winner of the audio poetry prize, was told his entry was disqualified as it was “flagged by AI content [detectors]”. Doolan said the accusation was “absolutely nonsense” and that his poem had been originally published in 2018.
Another winner, who asked to remain anonymous, received an identical email and “vigorously denies” any use of AI. Both writers said they were not given an opportunity to prove the originality of their work. A planned awards ceremony in France was cancelled, and a linked short story writing course also fell through due to lack of donations.
