The Award

Call for entries to the Jane Grigson Trust Award for New Food and Drink Writers 2021

(HOW TO ENTER)

The 2021 Jane Grigson Trust Award for first time writers of books about food and drink is now open for entries from writers, publishers and agents. The closing date is 30 November 2020 and entries can be made at www.janegrigsontrust.org.uk.

The £2000 Jane Grigson Trust Award, created in honour of one of the greatest food writers that Britain has ever produced, is made to a writer new to food and drink writing (although they may have written on other subjects), whose book has already been commissioned by a publishing house but has not yet been published.

Joining Geraldene Holt (food writer and chair of the Jane Grigson Trust) on the judging panel for the 2021 award are: Angela Clutton (food writer, broadcaster, and 2018 Jane Grigson Trust Award winner); Henrietta Green (food writer and Trustee of the JGT), Gareth Grundy (deputy editor of Observer Food Monthly), and Diana Henry (food writer and Trustee of the JGT).

The judges are keen to hear from authors, publishers and agents not just of traditional cookbooks but of any books which have food or drink at their heart. In the spirit of Jane Grigson and her writing, the Award is for a non-fiction book on food and drink in the widest sense, from any genre – cookbook, memoir, travel, history – as long as the primary subject is food or drink.

Chair of Judges Geraldene Holt says:

“In this year of the pandemic, books on food and cooking have inspired and informed us while our lives focused on our health and our daily existence. As Jane Grigson herself said, food books are all about ‘enjoying food’, and that has never been more true. The Trust looks forward to receiving entries from exciting new writers on food and drink who will help us chart the path ahead.”

The 2020 Award was won by Kirsty Scobie and Fenella Renwick for The Seafood Shack which will be published by Kitchen Press in November 2020. The Seafood Shack is a mix of Kirsty and Fenella’s popular recipes from their seafood restaurant in Ullapool, alongside their story of creating a new food business, a study of the Scottish seafood and fishing industry and a reflection on the lives of the fishermen at its heart.

• The other previous winners of the Jane Grigson Trust Award are: Elly McCausland for The Botanical Kitchen and Dan Saladino for The Last Harvest (2019 joint winners); Angela Clutton for The Vinegar Cupboard (2018); Vicky Hayward for The New Art of Cookery: A Spanish Friar’s Kitchen Notebook (2017) and Alex Andreou for The Magic Bayleaf (2016).

The intention is that the winner of the Award will use the prize money to fund further travel or research in the vital time between gaining a commission and delivery of the manuscript. As previous winner and 2021 judge Angela Clutton comments: “The Jane Grigson Trust Award made the most enormous difference to the development of The Vinegar Cupboard. To anyone who has done the amazing feat of getting a first book commissioned I can only wholeheartedly say they should – must – apply for this because it is a very, very good thing indeed.”

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NOTES TO EDITORS

• The closing date for entries is 30 November 2020

• Entries can be made at janegrigsontrust.org.uk

• The shortlist of three will be announced in February 2021 and the winner will be announced in March 2021.

• For further details about the Jane Grigson Trust Award and Rules of Entry, follow this link

• Previous winners of the Jane Grigson Trust Award are: Kirsty Scobie and Fenella Renwick for The Seafood Shack (2020); Elly McCausland for The Botanical Kitchen and Dan Saladino for The Last Harvest (2019 joint winners); Angela Clutton for The Vinegar Cupboard (2018); Vicky Hayward for The New Art of Cookery: A Spanish Friar’s Kitchen Notebook (2017) and Alex Andreou for The Magic Bayleaf (2016).

• The Jane Grigson Trust is an educational charity set up in memory of the celebrated food writer Jane Grigson (Registered Charity No. 1002742) @jgrigsontrust

Past Winners

The winner of the Jane Grigson Trust award 2019 was:

Elly McCausland: The Botanical Kitchen

The Botanical Kitchen, an in-depth exploration of our passion for all parts of the plant – from rose petals to raspberries, blackcurrants to bergamot, and lavender to lime leaves – will be published by Absolute Press in the sprnig of 2020. It will combine Elly’s love of literature, food culture and history with her passion for herbs, spices, fruit and tea.

Winning the award was the most wonderful thing to happen in the development of my book, giving me a renewed sense of inspiration, energy and a sense of why food writing continues to matter in the world. It gave me the drive to push forward in finishing a book that I hope Jane herself would have enjoyed.

The winner of the Jane Grigson Trust award 2019 was:

Dan Saladino: The Ark of Taste

In The Ark of Taste, radio journalist Dan Saladino will take the reader on a revelatory journey of discovery into the world’s most endangered foods and disappearing flavours.

Winning the award made a significant difference to the direction of my first book. On a practical level it made an important research trip possible and led to new ideas and themes being added. But equally important; the award gave me a huge amount of confidence in the stories I was telling and the messages I wanted the book to get across.

The winner of the Jane Grigson Trust award 2018 was:

Angela Clutton: The Vinegar Cupboard

In this fascinating and unique book, food writer and historian Angela Clutton demonstrates the many great ways vinegars can be used to balance and bring flavour, which will enable modern cooks to make the most of this ancient ingredient (to be published by Absolute Press in February 2019).

The Jane Grigson Trust Award has made just the most enormous difference to the development of The Vinegar Cupboard. To anyone who has done the amazing feat of getting a first book commissioned, I can only wholeheartedly say they should - must - apply for this because it is a very, very good thing indeed.

The winner of the Jane Grigson Trust award 2017 was:

Vicky Hayward: The New Art of Cookery: A Spanish Friar’s Kitchen Notebook

Drawing on her deep knowledge of Spanish culture, Vicky Hayward gives a modern retelling of an eighteenth-century classic cookbook, including fresh, simple and surprisingly easy to make recipes. (Published by Rowman & Littlefield in the UK in September 2017)

Vicky said of winning the Award:

My heartfelt thanks go to the Trust for the 2017 Award; it has drawn me back to Jane’s scholarly, inclusive, independent writing and, in so doing, it has given me inspiration for the years to come.

The winner of the Jane Grigson Trust award 2016 was:

Alex Andreou: The Magic Bay Leaf

In an evocative mix of memoir and recipes, Alex Andreou writes about the food of the Greek islands. (To be published by Chatto & Windus – awaiting publication)

At precisely the point when the project looked far too titanic to tackle, when I had begun to doubt myself – as every writer must – the Jane Grigson Trust Award put the wind back in my sails. It gave me the boost, focus and breathing space to break through my barriers. I will be ever grateful for Jane Grigson’s vision and the Trust’s faith.