Introducing the next generation of powerful citizen voices – announcing our first national prize winners

Bylines Network has awarded two prizes for fantastic citizen writing, one for students and one for poets, supported by renowned journalist Will Hutton and esteemed poets Kate Fox and Ian McMillan

2025 has been a momentous year for the Bylines Network. In April, we celebrated our fifth birthday. In June, we released our 18,000th article. By the end of the summer, our online content had been read 19,000,000 times. As we speed into the autumn, our 10 UK national and regional publications are telling more vital stories and speaking truth to power in more communities than ever before.

Powerful stories are what Bylines Network is all about. We champion unheard voices, bring local investigations to national and international audiences, and cast the bright light of citizen analysis on global events. Supporting people from all walks of life to become journalists and writers is core to our mission – democracy thrives when everyday people report the truth, society is better connected when everyone has the chance to share their words.

That is why we are delighted to announce the inaugural winners of our two national awards, launched in 2025:

• The Bylines Network Will Hutton Student Journalism Prize - won by Maysara Al Khalaf, Jack Evans and Rudi Banfield

• The Bylines Network Sky Hawkins Poetry Prize - won by Rachel Burns

These four writers have produced remarkable work, recognised for the way it illuminates personal and socio–political situations. They are stories that need to be told and read, tackling situations as diverse as prisons in Syria, the legacy of the 1980s miners’ strike, privatisation of public space, and gender politics in northern England.

These works represent the myriad of issues, ideas and topics that matter to citizen authors. We can’t wait for you to read them.

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Bylines Network doesn’t have billionaire backers. We don’t have corporate owners, nor political paymasters. We’re proudly independent and run by, for and with citizens. You can read all our work without paying a penny – just subscribe here. But, sadly, what we do isn’t free. It costs us over £150,000 a year to run 10 publications, publish more than 4,500 articles and support 2,000 authors and poets. Can you help? Upgrade to a paid subscription of just £3.50 a month, or donate to our crowdfunder, and join our supporter army and be a champion of citizen voices.

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Will Hutton Prize for Student Journalism

The Bylines Network student prize recognises outstanding journalism produced by students and published in Bylines titles. As well as championing citizen voices, we aim to play a role in developing new writing talent and increasing diversity in media and journalism.

Every year, we support dozens of students in placements with our titles. Many go on to careers in print, radio and television. We’re told that having Bylines on their CV helps many secure that all–important first job. We’re also told that the connection we offer to the grassroots of UK society helps students decide what kind of journalists they want to be.

In recognition of the excellent work of our students, we created the Bylines Network Will Hutton Student Journalism Prize. Will’s long distinguished career in journalism, broadcast media, economics and the social sciences exemplifies the quality of research, analysis and writing many of our students aspire to.

In its inaugural year, the prize had so many fantastic entries that Will ended up choosing three winners. Enjoy them here.

WINNER of the Will Hutton Student Prize 2025 - Sex Pistols ignite the Royal Albert Hall

WINNER of the Will Hutton Student Prize 2025 - The miners’ strike 40 years on: the lasting impact of coal on South Yorkshire

Watch highlights of the award ceremony and hear from the winners and Will Hutton.

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Sky Hawkins Poetry Prize

This is the first year the Bylines Network has run a national poetry competition. We are passionate about platforming voices that might otherwise go unheard, and this nationwide poetry prize is another way of living that mission.

There was a huge response with hundreds of entries received. The standard was excellent, and the shortlisting panel’s job was tough. Ten pieces made it to the final round, to be judged by Ian McMillan and Kate Fox, two of the UK’s best-known poets.

Ian is a frequent presence on television, BBC radio (where he presents Radio 4’s The Verb), and in the press. He was recently ranked the 22nd most influential person in radio. Kate is a North Yorkshire-based poet, comedian, and writer who has created comedy for Radio 4, been Poet in Residence at the Glastonbury Festival and the Great North Run, is a former judge for the Forward Poetry Prizes, and is a neurodiversity advocate.

We named our prize after Sky Hawkins, a poet, performer and facilitator from North East England, who died in April 2025. Her sudden loss was felt as strongly by fellow poets, friends and family as it was by the women’s groups, youth services, and projects she worked with. Drawing on personal experience, Sky’s engaging and entertaining work won multiple slams, awards, and commissions. She was passionate about enabling citizens to share their voice, and devoted two decades to working in marginalised communities, helping others speak their truth.

That is what Bylines Network is all about, and we can’t wait for you to read winner Rachel Burns’ powerful piece, inspired by the legacy of feminist poet Sharon Olds and drawing on experiences in North East England. It is called ‘I go back to July 1970’.

Read more about the competition and watch a live video of the beautiful prize giving event.

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