Talented young writers will be able to use the University of Exeter's incredible literary archives for new creative works thanks to a legacy from local author Ronald Duncan.
The first recipients of the Ronald Duncan Stipends for South West Writing will bring the unique documents and artifacts held in the university's Special Collections and Archives to life in new and exciting ways.
They were chosen from among an overwhelming number of outstanding applications, reflecting the creativity and diversity of talent across the literary and arts communities in the South West.
The stipends are funded by a donation from the Ronald Duncan Literary Foundation to continue his legacy of experimental and cross-disciplinary writing.
Ronald Duncan (1914-1982), was a West Country author, journalist, playwright, poet, and scriptwriter, arguably best known as the librettist for Benjamin Britten's The Rape of Lucretia (1946) and for his poem The Horse, which is read annually at the Horse of the Year show.
His career encompassed experiments with several writing forms including his epic poem Man (The Complete Cantos, 1980), and a one act play in Stereophonic Sound O-B-A-F-G. He left the legacy of a fascinating archive of literary and personal papers, the Ronald Duncan Collection, which was donated to the University of Exeter Special Collections in 2016.
The 2025 stipend recipients are Alex MJ Smith, Sam Godfrey and Sama Hussein.
Alex is a storyteller from the West Country whose work spans comedy, stage writing, and interactive narratives. Much of his work is directly inspired by living in Cornwall: its wild landscapes, folklore, history and contemporary challenges. Alex has written for BBC Radio 4 and the Minack Theatre. He will base himself at the University of Exeter's Penryn Campus, using the archives to inspire a new stage play or tabletop roleplaying game.
Sam Godfrey is a multidisciplinary artist and PhD researcher at the University of Exeter. They will draw on Ronald Duncan's experimental stereophonic play 'O-B-A-F-G' and his poetry collaboration 'The Seasons' with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop to explore themes of ecology and deep time, creating an audio and spoken word poetic soundscape using field recordings from the coast.
Sama's stipend was given in partnership with Exeter City of Literature. She is an Iraqi writer, editor, and recipient of the UAE Golden Visa for cultural and artistic talents. Sama is the author of two books with a third translated into English and the founder of (Project Dhiid), a youth-led cultural initiative, and has worked as a writer and editor for various local and Arab newspapers. She also serves as Managing Editor of Eilda Magazine for feminist literature. As part of her ongoing work to uncover cultural voices yet to reach the Arab world Sama will develop a documentary work tracing her journey from Baghdad to Exeter, highlighting the importance of making Duncan's literature and Exeter's archives accessible to Arab readers and young audiences.
