The Media School

Finalists for New Media Writing Awards

12 October 2010

Two Bournemouth University Media School students are finalists in the Poole Literary Festival New Media Writing Awards.

Two Bournemouth University (BU) students will fight it out to win an Apple iPad and £250 prize money at the Poole Literary Festival New Media Writing Awards this month.

MA Radio Production student Lorenza Samuels has been shortlisted for her piece, ‘Evidence’ and BA Scriptwriting for Film and Television student Emily Hollingsworth caught judges’ attention with her contribution, ‘Anonymous’.

Emily described her piece as “a web drama about a man who has woken up and found that he cannot remember who he is, where he is or why he is there. The story then revolves around his search for his identity and his past, using online resources as this is the only method he has.”

Emily added: “I've just started my second year of Scriptwriting for Film and Television and it was during my course that I found out about the Poole festival and the New Media competition. I'm really looking forward to the awards, and think it will be a great experience and will hopefully provide a valuable insight to the future of the media industry.”

Over 60 people entered the student and general New Media Writing categories, sponsored by BU, with applications coming from as far afield as New Zealand, Canada and the USA.

Digital Publishing Manager at Profile Books, Michael Bhaskar is a member of the judging panel. He said: “This award is breaking genuinely new ground in looking at how digital technology is transforming written communication. As the first award of its kind globally, it will be a landmark in the increasingly exciting arena of new media writing and I am thrilled to be involved.”

Michael joins BU’s Jim Pope on the judging panel. The winners will be announced at a prestigious ceremony at Lighthouse – Poole’s Centre for the Arts – on Sunday 31 October 2010.

Over 40 acclaimed writers are expected to visit Poole on 29-31 October 2010. The impressive line-up of literary figures includes Michael Morpurgo, Carol Ann Duffy, Minette Walters, Gervase Phinn, Michael Jecks, Daisy Goodwin and Katie Fforde.