£3,125 in prizes and the
opportunity to be published
"2013 may be the 21st
year of the Wills Writing Awards, but the competition came of age many years
ago" says Brough Scott, Chairman of the judges for the 11th successive
year. "Long may the Awards offer their uniquely generous opportunity for
those who want to make their writing sing."
The annual Awards,
promoted by a registered UK charity, launched in 1993 in memory of journalist
and amateur jockey Martin Wills and now in their 21st year, are for creative
writing (fact or fiction) around a horseracing theme. They are open to
young people resident in the UK or the Republic of Ireland, with three
categories: under 26, under 19 and under 15. Each category offers substantial
prizes, the main one being £1,250.
Last year's under 26 joint
winner, five-times Irish Champion Amateur Jockey Patrick Mullins, had his
article on his tragic experience when riding Dooneys Gate in the 2011 Grand
National - published as the principal comment piece in The Daily Telegraph on
the day before the 2012 Grand National.
Those aged under 26/19/15
at January 1, 2013, are invited to submit a single article by February 28,
2013, via the 'Entry Requirements' section of the Awards' website www.willswritingawards.co.uk. Employees of
the national and racing press, in a journalistic capacity, and previous winners
in their category are ineligible. Entries are judged anonymously.
Particular importance will
be attached by the judges to imagination, use of language and entertainment. Quality of writing is
key; a detailed knowledge of horseracing is unnecessary. No previous experience
of published or competitive writing is required.
The maximum word counts
are 1,200 (under 26s/19s) or 800 (under 15s).
The article must not be
published prior to the announcement of the winners of the Awards. No
correspondence will be entered into and the judges' decision is final. Schools
should, please, not submit more than three entries per class.
The six prizes,
for the winner and runner-up in each category, are £1,250/£750 (under 26s),
£500/£250 (under 19s) and £250/£125 (under 15s). In addition, the winners
will be published in the Racing Post and The Irish Field.
The under 26 winner will also have the opportunity of work experience at the Racing
Post.
The Awards will be
announced and presented at Newmarket's prestigious Craven Meeting on Wednesday,
April 17, 2013, when all six prize winners will be given an expenses paid day's
racing, including a reception in a private luncheon room generously made
available by the Racecourse. There will also be a tour of two leading stables.
This year's six judges
are: Brough Scott (Chairman), three-times Sports Feature Writer of the Year,
Racing Writer of the Year in 1977 and 2010, his Henry Cecil, Trainer of Genius
will be published in April; Marcus Armytage, racing writer at The Daily
Telegraph and Grand National-winning jockey in record time, who was shortlisted
for Racing Reporter of the Year 2012; Sean Magee, a versatile journalist and
author, most recently of Desert Island Discs:70 Years of Castaways ; Lee
Mottershead, a writer on the Racing Post, who was named Racing Writer of the
Year in 2011; Leo Powell, who is in his 10th year as Editor of The Irish Field;
and Catherine Wills, D Phil art historian sister of Martin Wills, and a
racehorse owner and breeder.
The Martin Wills Memorial
Trust commemorates Martin Wills, an amateur jockey, point-to-point rider and
journalist who died in April 1992, aged 39.
Information on the Awards
is available on www.willswritingawards.co.uk.
No comments:
Post a Comment