A POET has been shortlisted for a prestigious award following the release of his book based on the area.

Jonathan Edwards, from Crosskeys, is in with a chance of winning the Fenton Aldeburgh First Collection Prize for his book of poems, My Family and Other Superheroes. Mr Edwards is the only Welsh writer among the five shortlisted for the award, which recognises the best first collection of poems published in Britain in the last year.

The winner will be announced at the Aldeburgh Festival’s opening main reading – on Friday, November 7, at 8.30pm – and he or she will receive the cash prize of £2,500, a week of paid ‘protected’ writing time in 2015 on the East Suffolk coast, plus a fee-paying invitation to read at next year’s Aldeburgh Poetry Festival.

Mr Edwards said: “A number of the poems in My Family and Other Superheroes are inspired by local people, places and history, so it’s brilliant that the book is receiving national recognition. One poem is written in memory of the Chartist Mural in John Frost Square, so brutally demolished last year, while others are set in the Kingsway Arcade and in Newport High Street.”

The poet has also written speeches for the Welsh Government, had articles published for The Big Issue Cymru and currently works as an English teacher. Prior to this, he has won the Terry Hetherington Award in 2010, was awarded a Literature Wales new writer’s bursary in 2011 and in 2012 he won prizes in the Cardiff International Poetry Competition and the Basil Bunting Award.

Mr Edwards revealed the inspiration behind the book, he said: “I’ve really tried to capture the magic of Newport and Valleys characters, the real superheroes of the book’s title. I honestly believe we have the best people in the world in this area, and I wanted to write a book for and about them.”

My Family and Other Superheroes is on sale now.