ARTS NEWS
· Inaugural prize launched by bestselling author LJ Ross in celebration of Britain’s most inspiring region
· Amateur photographers encouraged to submit images for £1,000 landscape prize and £1,000 portrait prize
· Competition is free to enter and open for submissions until 30 June 2021
International bestselling author LJ Ross brings the unique character and scenery of Northumberland to life through her writing, but her new photography prize aims to capture the spirit and heart of the region through pictures.
The inaugural Northern Photography Prize - in association with Living North Magazine and sponsored by Dark Skies Publishing - launches today, sparking a seven-month search for the region’s most stunning landscape and portrait images.
The prize, which is free to enter for amateur photographers of all levels, consists of two categories - the Spirit of the North East for landscape photography and the Heart of the North East for portrait photography.
The winning images will each earn a £1,000 cash prize and all winning and shortlisted entries will be featured in Living North magazine.
LJ Ross said: “Photography has a unique power to capture the humanity of a single moment, or the beauty of the natural world in such a way that can never be replicated. In my profession, the same landscape has inspired so many different writers - from Tolkien to George R. R. Martin - and it’s the same in photography. It’s fascinating to me how two sets of eyes can interpret Bamburgh Castle or the Angel of the North in different ways, lending each a completely different meaning and texture.”
“Images can be powerful, even as book covers, which I found out when I took an image of Lindisfarne Castle at sunrise on New Year’s Eve 2014 and used it as the cover for my first novel, Holy Island, which has now reached millions of readers. What I’m hoping to see from the entries to the inaugural Northern Photography Prize are powerful images that celebrate the spirit and heart of the North East, two factors that are always in abundance and never far away,” she continued.
LJ Ross will be joined on the judging panel by Newcastle-born award-winning landscape photographer, David Taylor, editor of the prize’s media partner Living North magazine, Janet Blair, and project manager of the prize, Sam Missingham. The entry process will close on 30 June 2021 and the shortlisted entries (six in each category) will be announced on 31 July 2021. The winners will be revealed on 30 September 2021.
The Northern Photography Prize, forms part of Read, Write, Walk North East, LJ Ross’s year-long initiative launched in direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The initiative aims to celebrate the arts, boost literacy, drive tourism and support business in the North East region.
For more information on how to enter, eligibility criteria and full terms and conditions, visit https://www.ljrossauthor.com/philanthropy/northern-photography-prize/how-to-enter/.