AN AWARD for new writing has been set up in memory of radical journalist and author Ian Bell.
Launched by his family and the National Union of Journalists’ Edinburgh branch, of which Bell was a member, the award is for writers aged 30 or under who are living, working or studying in Scotland. The unpublished submissions should be in the “critical spirit” of Ian Bell, written in a style that is “taut, provocative but thoughtful” and suitable for online and newspaper publication.
A life-long socialist and leading political commentator, Bell’s sudden death in 2015 sent reverberations through Scotland and beyond.
Brought up on a council housing estate in Edinburgh, Bell attended Portobello High School, gained a first in English and Philosophy at the University of Edinburgh and won a scholarship to the US. Like much of his life, his entry into journalism was unconventional. He was first employed in the library at The Scotsman before his talent was spotted and he trained as a sub-editor.
Always a stalwart of the union, Ian left the newspaper in disgust after the lock-out of 1987. He said: “Newspapers are fragile things, hard to build and easy to topple. They depend on an odd, unspoken contract between editor, journalists and public.”
He moved to the Glasgow Herald, then became editor of the Observer Scotland supplement. When that folded he wrote columns for The Herald and the Sunday Herald, reviews for the Times Literary Supplement and Scottish Review of Books, and wrote two acclaimed biographies, of Robert Louis Stevenson and Bob Dylan.
The judges will be Iain Macwhirter, author and political commentator; Melanie Reid, of The Times; and Michael Gray, former reporter for CommonSpace. The winner will be announced in February, and will receive a prize of £500 and publication in the Scottish Review of Books.
Each entrant may submit up to two entries, each of between 1500 and 2000 words, on politics, culture, modern society, history, international affairs, Scotland, or related topics, and can be investigative reporting or commentary. Entries should be submitted by email to hilaryhorrocks@btinternet.com by November 30.
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