Winners announced for the Allen Wright Awards

WINNERS ANNOUNCED FOR ALLEN WRIGHT AWARDS

After close deliberation, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society judging panel has made their decision on this year's Allen Wright Awards.

The Allen Wright awards are presented to two journalists aged 30 years or younger who display excellence in features, interviews and previews or review writing during the world's   leading arts festival.

Judges praised the winning entries as superb examples of arts journalism and said they embodied the spirit of the Allen Wright Awards.  The awards were established ten years ago to encourage quality writing in the field of arts journalism and are named after Allen Wright, the former Arts Editor of The Scotsman.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society is delighted to announce that the winners of this year's Allen Wright Awards for excellence in arts journalism are:

For the Review category:
*       Matt Trueman (Culture Wars)

For the Features, Interviews and Previews category:
*       Sam Friedman (Fest Magazine)

Judges said the quality of Matt's reviews was outstanding and despite not necessarily sharing the opinions expressed, the standard of his writing spoke for itself. They felt this was especially significant coming from a smaller publication where articles are unsubbed.

They said that the features written by Sam stood out for being both very interesting and creative, and for having a considered subject choice. The research and depth of preparatory work that went into Sam's features also impressed the judges.

The Runner-up in the Review section is Sally Stott (The Scotsman) who the judges recognised her clear ability to catch and hold the reader's attention from the opening sentence.

Runner-up in the Features, Interviews and Previews section is Tom Hackett (Fest Magazine). The judges felt he had chosen a thoughtful topic and showed great understanding of his subject matter.

Kath Mainland, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society and member of the judging panel, said:

"The judges had a very hard decision on their hands as all the entries were of a very high standard. However we felt that Matt Trueman's and Sam Friedman's entries stood out from the rest. Matt's reviews were particularly well written, demonstrated a strong style and showed an exceptional talent for writing.

"The judges felt Sam's features were creative, original and showed the unique foresight required in a good features writer. We would like to thank all the entrants who submitted their articles for the Allen Wright Awards.

"The Fringe is a great place for developing talent and creativity, not just for performers but also for the next generation of arts journalists, something that these awards aim to actively encourage."

Both winners will receive £750 prize money.

The winning entries will be published on www.edfringe.com.