News

We are happy to announce that Katie Kirkpatrick is the winner of the Young Writers Award at Fringe 2023.

The Young Writers Award was set up in 2018 to encourage the next generation of arts writers at the Fringe. Any writers aged 16–21 were eligible to take part, submitting work either published or unpublished. 

As recipient of the award, Katie will receive one-to-one mentoring from arts writers at the Scotsman and paid work as part of the paper’s review team at Fringe 2024.

Katie said: "I couldn't be more thrilled to have won this year's Fringe Young Writer Award. I really believe in the value of theatre criticism and in the importance of young people's voices in conversations about theatre, so I'm very glad this award exists. I can't wait to continue to improve my writing practice with The Scotsman!"

Shona McCarthy, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said: “Between the return of the Young Writers Award and the debut of our Emerging Critics Programme over summer, it has felt important for the Fringe Society to find ways to support journalistic talent at this year’s festival. Katie’s award submission demonstrated an already well-developed voice; we feel she has a promising career ahead in arts writing. Massive congratulations to Katie, and thanks also to the Scotsman team for making this such a valuable experience.”