Results of the 2011 Memoir and Journalism competition 

Judges Report

This has proved to be one of the trickiest competitions yet to pick a winner for. The entries cover an incredible range of topics and styles. After the first round, our ‘shortlist’ comprised almost half of the entries – every one had something going for it. The final choices are, to a considerable degree, subjective so here’s an overview of some favourites before we come to something as bald as a list of winners.

On the journalism side of the equation, some of the best were “Broken Promises” a very professional bit of reporting and analysis from Andrew Bradford, looking at changes in the social and economic make up of the area around Tottenham over the last 50 years or more, showing up what are perhaps the root causes of recent events; Janet H Swinney’s “From Pork Chop Purloiner to Community Leader”, a well-crafted write up of an interview which points to answers to some of the problems Bradford’s article uncovers; Matthew McGovern’s “A Shifting America, Power and Perception” offers insights into some much discussed attitudes and opinions in the United States and their consequences. 

Christine Collette’s “Strike” bridges the divide between reporting and personal memoirs. It reads like a testimony from a different era and it is – a different century anyway. One of the many things one feels, reading through this fascinating shortlist is the speed and depth of change we’ve all experienced between the 20th and 21st Century, and Helen Pitt’s “Chernobyl and the Russian boys” is an important reminder that the consequences of famous events go on long after the news media have moved on.

On the literary side, “Hiding Place” by Kate Blake was one of the best evocations of school days, and “A Cock-Eyed Kind of Love” by Yvonne Mallett and “Coffee Freshers” by Sandra Burdett were thoroughly enjoyable visits to teenage rites of passage years. 

There were several excellent treatises on different aspects of the writer’s life. “Wham Bam Poetry Jam” also by Yvonne Mallett and another author’s “One Reason Why I Am Not Famous” - the tale of how he didn’t become a famous playwright whilst working in India being my personal favourites in this inky genre.

The standard and range of the entries make the idea of compiling an anthology irresistible and I will be contacting all the authors mentioned above with a view to publication and a hunt for photos or other illustrations but – can’t put it off any more – 

Winners!

First Place and £100 goes to Lynn Stewart for “The Zombie Robot” a piece that combines literary talent with courageous memoir writing as well as opening a window on an experience all too common in our times.

Second Place and £50 goes to Kate Blake for “Hiding Place”

£10 runner up prizes go to  Sue Seabridge, Yvonne Mallett, William Wood, Andrew Bradford and Janet H Swinney

Extracts from some of these works, and news of the anthology to come, will be published on the website over the next few weeks, once we’ve made contact with the authors. As well as those mentioned here, there are between ten and twenty further entries that include fascinating historical insights as well as unforgettable personal experiences. All of them, some with a little editing, are worthy of a place in a book and I will be contacting their authors during October/November to find out whether they’d like to have their works published.