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Legend Press has announced the eight authors shortlisted for this year's Luke Bitmead Bursary, set up to support the work of struggling and as yet unpublished writers.
The eight writers in question are: Alex Singer, for Tea at the Grand Tazi; Sandi Fikuart for The Fourth Chimurenga The Uprising; Brian Jenkinson for The Executioner; Duncan Abel for The Way Home; Paul Shapira for Genuine Brave Circle; Richard Harris for Haze; Sarah Hunter Carson for All Her Bones Were Silver; and Sophie Duffy for The Generation Game.
The Bursary was founded by Luke Bitmead's family in association with the publisher shortly after his death in 2006 at the age of 34. Bitmead's novel White Summer was the first to be published by Legend Press, which describes him as "one of the UK's most talented up-and-coming writers."
The winner of this year's Bursary will be announced on 20th January, and will receive a cash prize and a publishing contract with Legend for 2011. The award will be judged by Legend Press, Bitmead's mother and sister Elaine Hanson and Tiffany Orton, and authors Zoe Jenny and Sam Mills. Previous winners of the award are Andrew Blackman (On the Holloway Road) and Ruth Dugdall (The Woman Before Me).
Legend Press m.d. Tom Chalmers said he had been delighted to discover Blackman and Dugdall through the Bursary and added: "We are honoured to be working with Luke¹s family on this literary award, which is growing year-on-year. Luke would have loved the idea of another struggling talented writer being supported on the difficult road to securing their first publishing deal."