Debut playwright Angela Clarke, beats national newspaper journalists to take the Young Stationers’ Prize 2015 for Achievement and Promise in Writing/Publishing/Journalism as Related Arenas.
The judges of the Young Stationers’ Prize were delighted to announce their decision to award the Prize for 2015 to Angela Clarke, up-and-coming playwright, novelist and columnist.
Miss Clarke’s debut play The Legacy enjoyed a sell out first run at The Hope Theatre, Islington in June 2015. The Legacy garnered impressive critical acclaim including five stars from the MailOnline who called it ‘witty, insightful and powerful’ and four stars from West End Wilma and LondonTheatre1 who described it as ‘a stunning debut’ and ‘a memorable play that signposts a bright new talent’ respectively. Miss Clarke is also the author of memoir Confessions of a Fashionista, and the crime novel Follow Me which is due to be published by Avon in October this year.
Judges called her ‘a one-woman powerhouse‘ and ‘tremendously successful in a very short time.’ In a difficult and wide field of shortlisted nominees, Miss Clarke beat off competition from Rosamund Urwin, columnist and senior feature writer at the Evening Standard, and Henry Foy, Central Europe Correspondent for the Financial Times to win the prize. One judge called Miss Clarke ‘incredibly versatile—non-fiction, crime fiction, columns, plays, radio presenting, blogs.‘ Other judges described her as a ‘very committed and engaged mentor’, with a ‘vibrancy shone through‘. The judges also noted, ‘and finds time to volunteer for WoMentoring projects supporting and inspiring many others.’
Miss Clarke’s award continues the female dominated streak of Young Stationers’ winners, following on from last year’s inaugural prize awarded to Sunday Times columnist Katie Glass.
The judges further announced their decision, in light of the strength of the shortlist, to award joint proxime accesserunt prizes to Laura Summers, co-founder of BookMachine, and Rosamund Urwin, columnist and senior feature writer at the Evening Standard.
Of the two runners-up, the judges called Laura Summers ‘forward-thinking‘ and ‘innovative‘ with ‘clearly masses of drive‘ in creating an on-line and off-line networking tool for publishing professionals. ‘A great idea, and she’s executed it brilliantly,‘ said one judge.
About Miss Urwin, judges said ‘Rosamund’s nous for current affairs and engaging writing style have earned her due acclaim.‘ One judge was ‘surprised to hear she is only 30 as I feel like I have been reading her articles for a long time! She’s already made a real mark on the journalism world.‘ ‘You can tell she loves what she does,‘ said another.
The judges also awarded a special commendation for his charitable work to Ian Buckley, general manager of Prima Software, praising his encouragement of an apprenticeship scheme and work for the Birmingham Children’s Hospital. ‘His integrity and drive shine through,’ said one judge, in ‘that a competitor nominated him.‘
The Prize trophy was presented to the Stationers’ Company by the Pewterers’ Company. David Aaronovitch, columnist at The Times and recipient of the Orwell Prize, spoke following the announcement of the Prize result.
Friday 24th July 2015