A Norwich poet has been named as one of the winners of an international writing competition founded by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy.

Rebecca Tamás, who is completing a PhD in creative and critical writing at the University of East Anglia, was one of two joint winners of the 2016 Manchester Writing Competition Poetry Prize, which is designed to encourage new work and seek out the best creative writing from across the world.

The 28-year-old's winning portfolio focused on female experience and spirituality, with each of her five poems named after a historical female mystic.

Ms Tamás, who is the author of The Ophelia Letters and is currently working on her second poetry manuscript, said: 'Winning the Manchester Writing Prize is a huge confidence boost. Being able to submit a portfolio of work, rather than an individual poem, appealed to my writerly sensibilities, as it gave me the chance to expand on a theme throughout five poems.'

Ms Tamás was joint winner of the £10,000 poetry prize with New York English teacher Dante Di Stefano.

The Manchester Writing Competition was devised by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy in 2008 and is run by her team at The Manchester Writing School at Manchester Metropolitan University.

All the shortlisted works in the 2016 competition can be viewed at www.manchesterwritingcompetition.co.uk/2016-Manchester-Writing-Competition-short-lists.pdf