News

Gothic Postcard Winner is Dead Good

0 226

Words by Claudia Conerney

Competition winner Kate Owen
Manchester Metropolitan University is delighted to announce that Kate Owen from Sir John Deane’s College in Cheshire is the winner of the 2012 Postcards from the Dead competition. Entrants were required to write a postcard in no more than 200 words based on the point of view of a fictional character from a gothic novel that they are studying at A-Level. Kate chose to write her entry from the point of view of the house in Edgar Allen Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher. She told us, “the house might not strictly be a character, but when I read the short story I was inspired by the atmosphere of the house. For me, it was as if Poe had created a malevolent entity that could drive people insane and lead them to their deaths and I wanted to have fun exploring that idea.”

Andy Moore, English lecturer at MMU, certainly enjoyed reading her work, “The standard of entries was extremely high and it was very difficult to choose an overall winner. However, Kate’s entry was incredibly imaginative and very well written. The English department at MMU congratulate her on her achievement.”


In addition to a £25 Amazon voucher, Kate’s work will be professionally illustrated and designed and she will receive 100 copies of her postcard.


Congratulations also to our runners up, whose work was highly commended by our judging panel, Luke Percival from Saints Peter and Paul Catholic College in Widnes, Heather Dowling from Sir John Deane’s College in Cheshire and Victoria Waterhouse from Cronton Sixth Form College in Cheshire. 


‘Postcards from the Dead’ is a subsidiary of our main competition, ‘Postcards from the Past’. For further details about the rules and how to enter, please visit http://www.mcln.org.uk/ or visit the Postcards from the Past blog  here.

About the author / 

aAh!

aAh! Magazine is Manchester Metropolitan University's arts and culture magazine.

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More News Stories:

  • The Slates @ Gorilla review – packed rooms and big ambitions for the Yorkshire Lads

    Featured image and gallery: Sam Holmes From Mirfield to Manchester, this Yorkshire-born four-piece bring their funk-interwoven indie rock to a sold-out Gorilla for their biggest headline show to date. Fresh off the back of their new single ‘Watch Life Burn’ and signing their first record deal with This Feeling/ LAB Records, there is already a…

  • Manchester Film Festival 2026: Northern talent shines in record-breaking edition

    Feature image: Press The Manchester Film Festival has wrapped its 12th edition, running over 11 days and showcasing a strong line-up of local and international talent from across the independent film industry. Festival director Neil Jeram-Croft reflected on this year’s programme, filled with a mix of features, shorts and documentaries spanning the cities’ cinema hotspots:…

  • Toots and the Maytals bring ‘Reggae Got Soul’ 50th anniversary tour to Manchester

    Featured image: Press Toots and the Maytals return to Manchester for their ‘Reggae Got Soul’ 50th anniversary tour. Following their hugely successful 2025 tour, Toots and the Maytals return to Manchester to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their landmark album, Reggae Got Soul. Fronted for decades by Frederick ‘Toots’ Hibbert – named by Rolling Stone…