Helen Fielding launches Bridget Jones prize for northern comedy writing

Bridget Jones author Helen Fielding (right) alongside film star Renée ZellwegerBridget Jones author Helen Fielding has launched a new prize aimed at discovering funny diary writers from the north of England, saying opportunities across the UK are "very uneven". West Yorkshire-born Fielding, who penned Bridget's famous diary as well co-writing the film adaptations, has set up the Bridget Jones Prize with charity New Writing North. The award will go to the person who submits the funniest 1,000-word piece of first-person writing. Speaking at an event for the Independent, which first published Bridget's diary in 1995, Fielding said the spread of opportunity for writing in the UK is "very uneven", adding: "There's much more opportunity in the south than in the north, where I grew up. "The winner of the new prize - set to run for an initial three years from 2027 to 2029 - will receive a £2,000 prize and a package of writing support from Fielding's literary agents and New Writing North. Fielding's original newspaper column went on to be published as a best-selling novel titled Bridget Jones's Diary in 1996.

A Methuen native, Fielding was a star linebacker at Central Catholic (class of 2005) and Westfield State. Then he coached at his alma mater for 13 seasons. Now he runs Pact Performance, a private training program for college prospects, and several coaches from Pact have joined his Andover staff, including former Michigan State/NFL lineman Peter Clifford, former Everett and Merrimack wide receiver Anthony Norcia, former Brockton star James Jackson, and former Springfield College lineman Caeden Hale. The staff also includes Lawrence native Brandon Santell, who signed up as Fielding’s first client ahead of his freshman season at Assumption, where he earned Northeast-10 All-Conference honors. Get Varsity NewsYour weekly look at the top high school sports stories. Enter Email“[Fielding] helped me in so many ways,” said Santell, who also trains defensive linemen for Pact. “I was going into college and he treated me like a grown man, holding me accountable on and off the field.

Editor at Large and co-author of VC Insider Clement Delangue, co-founder and chief executive officer of Hugging Face.

at florida southern college, the restored 1950s-era building reopens with its original circular seating and new digital projection system. kat barandy October 23, 2026 5 min prefer designboom on googlea dome full of stars returns to florida southern collegeTwo rings of curved red seating surround a central projector beneath the domed ceiling of Frank Lloyd Wright‘s only built planetarium, which has reopened at Florida Southern College in Lakeland. After more than two decades without regular star shows, the 1950s building has been restored by a team led by Jeff Baker of MCWB Architects. Its original seating has been returned to Wright’s circular arrangement, and a new digital projection system brings the night sky back overhead. The Miller Planetarium welcomed the public again on September 26th, 2026. The planetarium occupies the southern end of the Polk Science Building, part of the college‘s collection of thirteen Wright-designed structures. Built between 1954 and 1958, its pale concrete walls are patterned with geometric textile blocks, while a white dome rises above the surrounding low-slung buildings.