Jan Fairley

WE are very pleased to announce the launch of the Jan Fairley Memorial Award 2014-15.

This is for an Edinburgh-based journalist at the start of their career to recognise arts journalism with an international outlook.

The award has been created by the Edinburgh Freelance Branch of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) in memory of our colleague and friend Jan Fairley, 1949-2012, with the support of the Edinburgh District Branch.

A committed NUJ member, Jan was also a passionate campaigner for human rights. As a music journalist, she was a lifelong promoter of world music and had strong connections with Latin America.

Entrants should submit from one to three pieces of between 500 and 1,500 words which have already been published in an edited publication whether online or in print. That could be a student publication, a magazine, an edited wesbsite or a newspaper. The pieces should demonstrate writing about the arts in a way which sets it in a wider social or international context. There is no age restriction but candidates should not have been employed as professional journalists for any longer than five years.

The prize will be a certificate, £300 and a selection from the winning entry will be published in The Scotsman newspaper.

Entries should be sent to us here, headed ‘Jan Fairley Award’. The closing date is 30 November 2014. The judging panel will be chaired by Edinburgh University Tovey Chair of Music Professor Simon Frith and the award ceremony will be held in January 2015.