The Matthew Hale Award is open to young writers who show promise but lack the opportunity to pursue their talent. This could be for a number of reasons, including physical or mental ill-health, family circumstances, lack of access to cultural opportunities or any other reasons.
This award is for a young person aged between 12 and 18 years at the time of application.
Applications are accepted in two ways:
- through nomination by an adult.
- by application directly from the young person.
We accept writing in any creative form including prose, poetry, scriptwriting, blogging, songwriting and rap.
This award consists of a package of support created by New Writing North and is worth £500. The package will be tailored to the specific interests and needs of the winner, but could include anything from one-on-one mentoring with a professional writer, enrollment on a course, books, theatre tickets or a pass to a literature festival. Nominations for recipients of this award are invited from parents, teachers or other adults.
Judging panel: the family of Matthew Hale and New Writing North.