Released on: July 28, 2008, 7:24 am

Press Release Author: Legend Press

Industry: Media

Press Release Summary: Unpublished author Andrew Blackman, from North London, has been announced as the winner of the 2008 Luke Bitmead Writer\'s Bursary and was awarded £2,500 as well as a publishing contract with Legend Press for his novel On the Holloway Road.

Press Release Body: Unpublished author Andrew Blackman, from North London, has been announced as the winner of the 2008 Luke Bitmead Writer\'s Bursary and was awarded £2,500 as well as a publishing contract with Legend Press for his novel On the Holloway Road. Two additional prizes were awarded on the night to 2nd and 3rd place writers James Higgerson and Andrew Kirby. The shortlist of 11 authors were selected by a judging panel comprising Legend Press, best selling authors Sam Mills and Zoe Jenny and Luke\'s family, from hundreds of submissions.

The Luke Bitmead Memorial Fund was founded by Luke\'s family, in association with Legend Press, shortly after Luke\'s tragic death in 2006 at the age of just 34. Luke\'s book White Summer was the first novel to be published by Legend Press and Luke was one of the UK\'s most talented up-and-coming writers. Legend Press are delighted to be working with Luke\'s family to ensure that Luke\'s name and memory lives on. Luke would have loved the idea of another struggling talented writer being supported on the arduous road to securing their first publishing deal.

Novelist, and judge of the Bursary, Sam Mills remarked: \'Andrew has a mature prose style with a lovely turn of phrase. His writing showed great flashes of wit and insight. I am proud to have been involved in selecting such a worthy winner and feel he has the potential to go onto great things.\'

Tom Chalmers, Managing Director of Legend Press, commented:\"We are delighted to announce Andrew as the first winner of this fantastic award. Life is often incredibly tough for aspiring writers if they do not have the financial backing to match their ability, no matter how talented. This award goes someway to addressing that balance and helps turn ambition into reality. From working with the unforgettable Luke, I know he will be delighted at the opportunity the bursary creates and we can\'t wait to start working with Andrew on his superb novel.\"

Elaine Hanson, Luke\'s mother commented \"As a psychodynamic counsellor I work with peoples tragedies much of the time. Nothing can prepare you for your own. Especially when you know, with the right help, things could have been so different. Mistakes were made in Luke\'s care. I believe Luke could have been saved. The Bursary has given us something positive to concentrate on while we wait for the Coroner\'s Inquest and I believe the words of Ben Sweetland \'We cannot hold a torch to light another\'s path without brightening our own.\"


Web Site: http://www.legendpress.co.uk

Contact Details: 63 Clerkenwell Rd, London, EC1M 5NP, 0207 253 7019, info@legendpress.co.uk