Bill Hilton began by saying how much he had enjoyed reading all the entries, (which had not always been his experience as an adjudicator) and was then invited to describe his personal connections with writing as a profession. After studying for a degree in English and Music, he taught English for 6 years before starting his own business as a professional advertising copywriter for large firms. That led to branching out into training courses in writing for big businesses, so that they would be able to produce their own copy. After going back to university to do an M.A. in English, Bill turned his focus onto producing piano books and tutorials for YouTube.
When considering a piece of writing, Bill looks for the following:
1) Would he like to read more by this author?
2) Does the author display confidence in him//herself and the reader/audience?
3) Does the writing exhibit control of the structure of the piece, both overall and at sentence level?
4) An interesting subject and, particularly, an interesting title.
In random order, the entries for the competition were:
‘Family History’ by Joe Peters
‘Buried Treasure: Sutton Hoo’ by Charlotte Wilson
‘Oppenheimer: The film’ by Susan Perkins
‘In the British Museum’ by Solvig Choi
‘There is nothing like a Dame’ by Maggie Cobbett
‘Kynista’s victory at Olympia: the case of the missing statues’ by Carol Mayer
‘Deal and ideals in art’ by Sheila Whitfield
‘Next time in Venice’ by Chrissie Russell’
The photo above shows Bill Hilton presenting the cup to Solvig Choi, who had only just handed it back in after her win the last time this competition came around. Carol Mayer and Charlotte Wilson tied for second place.
Well done everyone who took part!
