After a bit of a hiatus, the 26 awards are back. Andy Hayes and Alastair Creamer have the details for our Emerging Writer and Project Writer awards…
Emerging Writer
It’s that time of year again. No, not that time, time to think about entering for the 26 Emerging Writer’s Award, once again supported by Quietroom. It’s aimed at people who began their commercial writing career in the last five years, you could be 25 or 85, you just need to be relatively new to the writing game.
You could win a beautifully designed winner’s trophy or runners-up certificate by master typographer, Dr Phil Cleaver.
“Go for it! There’s really nothing to lose! It can be a bit daunting putting your work out there to be judged. But getting your portfolio in front of the eyes of some amazing and experienced writers is definitely worth it. Winning gave me a massive confidence boost and was a lovely bonus as I was just pleased with myself for taking the brave step to enter. Go on, believe in yourself, I bet you’re better than you think you are.” Poppy Collier, 2019 winner
Sophie Gordon, our editor, adds, “For me, winning a commendation from 26 was a much-needed confidence boost at just the right time.” So, whether you’re putting yourself forward, or nominating someone else, take her advice “just dive in and go for it.”
Luckily there are no long forms to fill in, and entry doesn’t cost a penny. To enter yourself, or nominate someone else, all you need to do is send examples of your work and a paragraph explaining why you’d like to be considered to andy.hayes@quietroom.co.uk.
The deadline for all entries is Sunday 28th February, we’d love to see your work. And we’ll run the awards ceremony in late March/early April, either on Zoom or maybe in the real world. Who knows!
– Andy Hayes
Project Writer’s Award
Every year our creative projects produce work worth celebrating. At 26, we love a celebration and that’s what we’re going to do in late March/early April 2021 when we hold the awards ceremony to honour both the 26 Emerging Writer and the Project Writer’s Awards. We’ll give you plenty of notice to dust down your best outfit, see if the shoes fit, and organise a babysitter, so you can sit in front of your laptop, safe in the knowledge you’ve made a bit of an effort and can celebrate in style.
The Project Writer’s Award is supported this year by Creamer & Co and I am joined on the judging panel by Jamie Delves and Becca Magnus. We are looking at work from seven outstanding projects:
26 Weeks, 26 Wild, 26 Flashes, Dear 26, A Common Place,
EyeSpy and Writers in Residence at the Bloomsbury Festival.
That’s an awful lot of words to read, I hear you say, and you’d be right. We are assisted in our task by the project leads who produce a shortlist from their projects. We then have the unenviable task of choosing a winner.
For now, there’s nothing to do but sit back and maybe thumb through some of the stunning pieces produced this year and draw up your own shortlist. We’ll compare notes on the night.
– Alastair Creamer