Culture Awards 2009 Writer of the year finalists

Mar 8 2010 by Barbara Hodgson, The Journal

AS readers of Culture magazine will be aware, the full shortlist for The Journal Culture awards 2009, has been unveiled... and what a lovely collection of nominees we have.

Once again, we’ll be awarding cultural gongs in 15 categories, including those for Performer of the Year, Best Newcomer, as well as Writer of the Year... which is the award we’ve chosen to look at today.

A trio of North East based writers have been selected as finalists, and will be invited to attend the Culture Awards ceremony at The Gala Theatre, Durham on March 23.

Richard Milward, Laura Lindow and Denis O’Connor are the nominees.

Middlesbrough-based Richard, who at just 25, saw his second novel, Ten Storey Love Song published to great critical acclaim in April 2009. Meanwhile Edinburgh-born, but North East-based Laura is shortlisted for writing Heartbreak Soup, a play inspired by her work as a clown doctor on the heart and lung ward of the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle. After an acclaimed Edinburgh run in 2008, the play toured in 2009... including a stay at Newcastle’s Northern Stage.

Denis’ nomination comes in light of the slow-burning success of Paw Tracks in the Moonlight – a true account of how the Northumberland author rescued a kitten which survived to share his next 12 years. Denis self-published the book in 2004. In 2009, the story was selected as Radio Four’s Christmas Book of the Week.

For a list of Culture Awards 2009 finalists visit www.journallive.co.uk/cultureawards