Author Helen Fielding launches award to find the next Bridget Jones's Diary
Author Helen Fielding has launched the Bridget Jones Prize in partnership with New Writing North to discover funny, unpublished diary writers from the north of England. Fielding cited regional inequalities in the UK publishing industry as motivation for creating the award, which offers a cash prize and professional writing support. The initiative seeks to celebrate everyday, relatable comedy from voices outside of London and the south.
Why it matters
Addresses geographic disparities in the creative industries and opens up publishing pathways for underrepresented regional writing talent in the UK.
Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Bridget Jones author Helen Fielding (right) alongside film star Renée Zellweger
Bridget Jones author Helen Fielding has launched a new prize aimed at discovering funny diary writers from the north of England, saying opportunities across the UK are "very uneven".
West Yorkshire-born Fielding, who penned Bridget's famous diary as well co-writing the film adaptations, has set up the Bridget Jones Prize , external with charity New Writing North.
The award will go to the person who submits the funniest 1,000-word piece of first-person writing.
Speaking at an event for the Independent, which first published Bridget's diary in 1995, Fielding said the spread of opportunity for writing in the UK is "very uneven", adding: "There's much more opportunity in the south than in the north, where I grew up."
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