Announcement of the 2015 Young Stationers' Prize winner

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Pádraig Belton

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Jul 21, 2015, 10:13:42 AM7/21/15

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Announcement of the Young Stationers' Prize for 2015

At an awards dinner last night in Stationers' Hall attended by 88 people, the judges of the Young Stationers' Prize were delighted to announce their decision to award the Prize for 2015 to Angela Clarke, novelist, playwright, and columnist.

Miss Clarke is author of Confessions of a Fashionista and a regular contributor to the Guardian and Independent, doing so despite living with a genetic degenerative connective-tissue disorder.

Judges called her 'a one-woman powerhouse' and 'tremendously successful in a very short time.' In a difficult and wide field of nominees, she received one-third of the votes of judges for first place. One judge called her 'incredibly versatile—non-fiction, crime fiction, columns, plays, radio presenting, blogs.' Other judges described her as a 'very committed and engaged mentor', with a 'vibrancy shone through'. 'She has overcome great disability and shown great empathy for her audience,' the judges also noted, 'and finds time to volunteer for Arts emergency and WoMentoring projects supporting and inspiring many others.'

The judges further announced their decision, in light of the strength of the shortlist, to award joint proxime accesserunt prizes to Laura Summers, co-founder of BookMachine, and Rosamund Urwin, columnist and senior feature writer at the Evening Standard.

Of the two runners-up, the judges called Laura Summers 'forward-thinking' and 'innovative' with 'clearly masses of drive' in creating an on-line and off-line networking tool for publishing professionals. 'A great idea, and she’s executed it brilliantly,' said one judge.

About Miss Urwin, judges said 'Rosamund’s nous for current affairs and engaging writing style have earned her due acclaim.' One judge was 'surprised to hear she is only 30 as I feel like I have been reading her articles for a long time! She’s already made a real mark on the journalism world.' 'You can tell she loves what she does,' said another.

The judges also awarded a special commendation for his charitable work to Ian Buckley, general manager of Prima Software, praising his encouragement of an apprenticeship scheme and work for the Birmingham Children's Hospital. 'His integrity and drive shine through,' said one judge, in 'that a competitor nominated him.'

The Prize trophy was presented to the Stationers' Company by the Pewterers' Company. David Aaronovitch, columnist at The Times and recipient of the Orwell Prize, spoke following the announcement of the Prize result.

For any further information, please do contact Pádraig Belton, chairman of the Young Stationers, at padraig...@gmail.com. An update on the work of the Young Stationers is available at tinyurl.com/StateoftheYS2015.

The Young Stationers' Prize trophy, donated by the Worshipful Company of Pewterers

From left: Pádraig Belton (Young Stationers chairman), Angela Clarke (2015 Young Stationers' Prizewinner), Helen Esmonde (Master of the Stationers' Company), David Aaronovitch (Times columnist), and Rosamund Urwin (2015 Young Stationers' Prize joint runner-up)