Judges 2025

Terri White is a journalist, author, screenwriter, and playwright based in the northwest, whose work is at the intersection of life writing, culture, and social affairs (class, poverty, child welfare, and VAWG). Her book, Coming Undone: A Memoir (Canongate, 2020) was chosen as ‘memoir of the year’ by The i Paper, and a book of the year by The Guardian, and The Big Issue. Terri is currently in development on the screen adaptation, alongside other screen projects, and is also developing Body Count, the short play she was commissioned to write and stage at Liverpool’s Playhouse Theatre in the summer of 2023, into a full stageplay. Terri is a columnist for The Sunday Times and writes for the likes of The Guardian, New Statesman, ELLE UK, British Vogue, EMPIRE, The Big Issue, Stylist, The Observer magazine, Sight & Sound, Grazia and northern literary journal, Lunate. Her BBC Sounds audio documentary series on school absence and vulnerable children, Terri White: Finding Britain’s Ghost Children, recently won Gold at the ARIAs (Best Factual Series), Silver at the New York Radio Festival Awards (Best Narrative Documentary) and a Social Work Journalism Award for Best In-depth Feature (Broadcast). Prior to this, Terri worked in publishing for two decades: she was EIC of the world’s biggest film magazine, EMPIRE and previously, Time Out New York. Terri was named Editor of the Year three times by the British Society of Magazine Editors (BSME); one of the 150 Female Leaders redefining the creative industries and a Folio Top Woman in US Media. She received the BSME’s lifetime achievement award, the Mark Boxer Award, in 2022, and was made a Fellow of the RSA (The Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce), in recognition of her work in journalism and magazine publishing. Terri is also a childhood campaigner for the NSPCC. She is currently working on her first novel, second non-fiction book and debut short film.

Carl Anka is a journalist, author, and broadcaster who specialises in pop culture, video games, films, and football. Currently a reporter for The Athletic, he appears in far too many podcasts for someone who is fearful of phone calls.
Carl co-authored Marcus Rashford’s book You Are a Champion (Macmillan Children’s Books), winner of Best Overall Book at the 2022 British Book Awards. This was followed by You Can Do It: How to Find Your Team and Make a Difference, You Are A Champion: Action Planner and Heroes (Macmillan Children’s Books, 2023).

Angela Hui is a journalist, editor and author of Takeaway: A Childhood from Behind the Counter.

Sarah Phelps is a writer for stage, radio and TV.  Her credits range from EastEnders, No Angels, Being Human through Charles Dickens (Oliver Twist, Great Expectations) Agatha Christie (And There Were None, The Witness for the Prosecution, Ordeal By Innocence, The ABC Murders, Pale Horse) to Dublin Murders, A Very British Scandal and RTS and BAFTA-award-winning The Sixth Commandment.

David Whitehouse is the author of three novels: Bed (winner of the Betty Trask Prize 2012), Mobile Library (winner of the Jerwood Fiction Prize 2015) and The Long Forgotten (2018). His debut non-fiction book About A Son was published in April 2022 and shortlisted for The Gordon Burn Prize and the CWA Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction. His next non-fiction book, Saltwater Mansions, will be published in 2025. He has written TV scripts for FX, Channel 4, ITV and Sky, and has a number of film and television projects in development.