Journalists Jay Richardson and Kirstin Innes
have been awarded the Allen Wright Award for Excellence in Arts
Journalism. Now in its tenth year, the award celebrates the work of
young journalists and their contribution to arts writing while covering
the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Both winners will receive £750 prize
money.
Jay Richardson was awarded for his evocative features on Frankie Boyle, Michael McIntyre and Adam Hills in Breaker Morant while Kirstin Innes was praised for her coverage of free shows at Fringe 2007 and for her reviews of Popsicle Departure 1989, Bed and Breakfast.
The awards were judged by a panel of leading journalists and arts professionals, including Jon Morgan, director of the Fringe, and Charlie Wood, director of Underbelly.
Founded in 1998, the awards were set up to
commemorate Allen Wright, a distinguished journalist and arts editor of
the Scotsman newspaper for 30 years. During his long career, Wright
founded the Fringe First awards and was a strong supporter of young
talent.
The full shortlist for the awards included the following journalists:
Nana Wereko-Brobby - FEST
Jennifer Shelton - ThreeWeeks
Kirstin Innes - The List
Yasmin Sulaiman - FEST
Roger Cox - Scotsman
James Richardson - Scotsman
Matt Brereton - Scotsman
Maxie Szalwinska - Guardian
Shona Craven - The Herald
Entrants for the award must be aged thirty or
younger and are required to submit up to three pieces of published work
(minimum 100 words) relating to the current year's Fringe. These could
be previews and features as well as reviews, giving emerging writers
opportunity to display their talents in a number of styles.