We’re delighted to announce that the judging panel for the 2013 Observer/Anthony Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism will include:
Jonathan Meades (chair). Jonathan Meades is a writer and television performer. His books include Pompey (1993), Incest and Morris Dancing (2002) and most recently Museum Without Walls (2012); and his many films include Magnetic North (2008), On France (2012) and The Joy Of Essex (2013).
Sarah Dunant. Sarah Dunant is a writer, broadcaster and critic. Her novels include In the Company Of The Courtesan (2006), Sacred Hearts (2009) and most recently Blood and Beauty (2013); she was a founding vice patron of the ORANGE PRIZE for women’s fiction, sits on the editorial board of the Royal Academy magazine, and reviews for The Times, The Guardian, and The Independent on Sunday. She teaches creative writing at The Faber Academy in London is also a creative writing fellow at Oxford Brookes University.
Jane Stevenson. Jane Stevenson is a novelist and historian, and is Regius Professor of Humanity and the University of Aberdeen. Her fiction books include Several Deceptions, a collection of four novellas; a novel, London Bridges; and the historical trilogy made up of the novels The Winter Queen, The Shadow King, and The Empress of the Last Days. Her academic publications include Women Latin Poets, Early Modern Women Poets, and The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby.
When choosing the winner, the judges will be looking for imaginative, original, and thought-provoking arts journalism that would be suitable for publication in the Observer. They will be looking for emerging talent, innovative approaches and writing from outside the mainstream, and they are especially keen to read entries from those who have not previously had work published by major media organisations. They are also, as William Boyd commented while judging the 2012 entries, looking for ‘some Burgessian fizz and crackle and a bit of well-displayed erudition.’
More about Burgess’s journalism is here, and in the Observer here. More details about the competition, and how to enter, are here. Good luck!
