Uni student Peter wins top writing prize

A Stirling University student has picked up a top national journalism award.

Third-year journalism student Peter Stewart has won the top prize in the Ian Bell‘New Writing’competition for his piece‘Scottish Junior Football – the beautiful game’.

He is the second Stirling student in a row to have done so.

Last year, journalism student Florence Breitstadt won the prize, awarded in memory of the late journalist Ian Bell, who died in 2015.

Peter will receive his gong at the ‘Journalism is a Matter of Life and Death’ event, part of Glasgow’s‘Aye Write!’book festival, on March 23 at the Mitchell Library.

Speaking after winning the award, Peter said:“I’m nothing short of honoured and humbled to receive first prize in an award associated with such a great man and writer.

“I can’t thank the organisers and judges enough. I know there will have been some outstanding writers in the running.

“My piece was born of reporting on junior football for my local paper, and I thought I’d put a different spin on it, focused on things I saw and people I met. I’ve always been fascinated with how Scotland performs infamously at the sport, and yet it’s our lifeblood.”

Tom Collins, senior lecturer at Stirling University, said:“Peter is an exceptional writer, and his take on the world of Scottish junior soccer is revelatory. He has an acute eye for detail and the ability to capture his subjects’rhythms of speech is moving and at times very funny.

“The strength of his piece is that it transcends its subject: it doesn’t matter whether or not you like soccer – if you love great writing, you will love this.”