The Bookseller.com

12th October 2008

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New bursary for writers

02.01.08 Victoria Gallagher

A new bursary for aspiring writers has been set up by the family of Luke Bitmead, who died in 2006. The bursary will include a cash award of £2,500 for the winner and a publishing contract from Bitmead's publisher Legend Press.

Author of White Summer and Heading South, Bitmead died aged 34. His family set up the memorial fund in his name to encourage writers who may have personal or financial issues, which restrict them from pursuing a writing career.

Submissions must be from unpublished authors and have to include the first three to four chapters of their novel and a personal statement describing why they would benefit from the bursary.

Bitmead's mother and sister will be on the judging panel, along with Legend Press and novelists Zoe Jenny and Sam Mills.

Entries must be received between 1st January and 1st March, and the winner will be announced in May. Further details are available at www.lukebitmead.com.

Bitmead's mother Elaine Hanson said: "The life of a writer can be both lonely and a financial struggle. This bursary honours Luke's idea to assist fledgling writers through what can be a bleak time before a novel is flying off the shelves and generating sufficient royalties to provide a proper income. Legend Press has been a huge support since Luke's death and it is fantastic that the winner will not only get a lump sum of £2,500 but also the 'Holy Grail' of a publishing deal."

Legend m.d. Tom Chalmers added: "We are delighted to be working with the greatly-missed Luke Bitmead's family to ensure that Luke's name and memory lives on-not only through his work, but through this wonderful Memorial Bursary too."

Authors Victoria Gallagher