The Bookseller.com

4th July 2009

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Unpublished author gets £2,500

25.07.08 Catherine Neilan

Unpublished author Andrew Blackman has being awarded £2,500 and a publishing contract with indie outfit Legend Press after winning the 2008 Luke Bitmead Writer's Bursary for his novel On the Holloway Road. Blackman saw off competition from hundreds of submissions, and 10 other shortlisted authors, after being selected by a judging panel comprising authors Sam Mills and Zoe Jenny, Legend Press, and Bitmead's family. Second and third place writers James Higgerson and Andrew Kirby won additional prizes.

Mills said: "Andrew has a mature prose style with a lovely turn of phrase. His writing showed great flashes of wit and insight. I am proud to have been involved in selecting such a worthy winner and feel he has the potential to go onto great things."

The Luke Bitmead Memorial Fund, which supports the award, was set up shortly after the young author's death in 2006 in association with his family and Legend Press, which had published his novel White Summer.

Tom Chalmers, m.d. Legend Press, said: " Life is often incredibly tough for aspiring writers if they do not have the financial backing to match their ability, no matter how talented. This award goes someway to addressing that balance and helps turn ambition into reality."

Legend Press Catherine Neilan Andrew Blackman Luke Bitmead Writer's Bursary