Bidisha is a writer, critic and journalist who began writing for arts magazines i-D, NME, Volume and Dazed&Confused at the age of fifteen. She had her first book published at the age of 16 by Harper Collins. Bidisha has been an arts reviewer for BBC London and taught Political Theory at the London College. She is currently working as an arts critic for BBC television and radio and a contributor to The Guardian. Her third book, a travel memoir entitled Venetian Masters, will be published in February 2008.
Tobias Hill was born in London. Nominated in 2003 as one the best young writers in Britain by the TLS, in 2004 he was selected as one of the country's Next Generation poets and shortlisted for the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year award. His fourth collection of poetry, Nocturne in Chrome and Sunset Yellow, was published in 2006. His collection of stories, Skin, won the Pen-Macmillan Prize for Fiction and was shortlisted for the John Llewellyn Rhys/Mail on Sunday Prize.
Amy Lamé is a broadcaster, writer, performer and all-round chubby glamourpuss. She co-presents with Danny Baker on BBC Radio London 94.9 and on the new, independent podcast The All Day Breakfast Show. Amy writes travel features for The Times and The Observer, and has been featured in publications as varied as Decanter, Good Housekeeping and DIVA. She is the co-founder and host of the Olivier award winning performance club and creative collective, Duckie. Amy is currently nationally and internationally touring her one woman show, Amy Lamé's Mama Cass Family Singers.
Chris Meade is currently the Executive Director of Booktrust but is soon to become co-Director of the Institute for the Future of the Book, a think and do tank currently based in New York, exploring the cultural shift from printed pages to networked screens. Previously he was Director of the Poetry Society where he established the Poetry Cafe in Covent Garden and launched Poetry Places, a lottery funded programme of community residencies and commissions. Chris also writes comedy, draws cartoons, and is currently working on an on-line graphic novel.
Judges
Bidisha
Tobias Hill
Amy Lamé
Chris Meade
Top Writing Tips
- Tobias Hill shares his top tips for writing poetry
- Bidisha gives good advice for budding writers
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This project is supported by the Museum of Docklands