Getting Better Award 2014

We are delighted to announce the winner of the Gatehouse Getting Better Award 2014, awarded to an adult learner who is overcoming significant barriers to learning in his/her life.

First Prize - Danielle Lilley: Mrs Todd and her pet cat 

Second Prize - Stuart Bowie: Education is the Drug of Choice

Third Prize - William Silver: A Collie's Tale.

Marie McNamara, author of the Gatehouse Book Getting Better, has overcome significant difficulties in her life to graduate in Nursing from Salford University. Yet just a few years ago, Marie was a stay-at-home single mother of three children, living on benefits, who struggled with reading and writing and had no qualifications or worthwhile job prospects. 

Marie’s aim is to encourage others like her to take the steps needed to improve their lives. To this end, Marie wants the royalties from sales of her book, Getting Better, to be used to encourage people to get writing and thinking about how they can make their own lives better.