Felix Dennis celebrates new talent with surprise offer at Magazine Academy
Dennis Publishing founder Felix Dennis underlined his commitment to supporting the future stars of publishing with a surprise offer at Magazine Academy this week.
Prior to handing out the Felix Dennis New Publisher of the Year Award, which he personally supports with a £5,000 prize, Dennis surprised the audience by offering to produce the magazine concept that had earlier earned Alice Lipscombe-Southwell of the University of Central Lancashire a Magazine Academy Award.
The generous and unexpected offer capped an evening that celebrated publishing excellence. Organised by the Periodicals Training Council and held at the E Rejuvenation Centre in London, the event incorporated the PTC Chairman’s Reception, the Magazine Academy Awards presentation and the PPA Professional Qualifications graduation ceremony.
To view a gallery of photos from the event, click here.
Chairman of the PTC Nicholas Brett, who is also deputy managing director and group editorial director of BBC Magazines, said: “Our strategy is to work alongside publishers to drive up standards in training and development, making a difference to skills across the industry and helping publishers improve the bottom line.”
The winners of the Magazine Academy Awards were unveiled by Sara Cremer, editorial director at Redwood and chair of the PTC Editorial Training Consultants Committee (ETCC). The awards recognise the talent of students from the 15 PTC-accredited universities and colleges, which submitted either a new launch concept or complete magazine to compete in two categories.
The award for New Magazine Concept - presented by Steve Campbell of PTC sponsor Polestar - went to the University of Central Lancashire for Wild.
The New Student Magazine award was won by Goldsmiths, University of London for Cheapskate and the winning students were presented with a copy of their magazine by Will Oldham, general manager of PTC’s overall sponsor UPM. The magazine was produced on UPM paper by Polestar and will be distributed across the industry.
The presentation of the Magazine Academy Awards was followed by a graduation ceremony for candidates that have successfully completed PPA professional qualifications. Certificates were presented by Eric Verdon-Roe, consultant to PPA.
The evening’s formalities were concluded by Felix Dennis, founder of Dennis Publishing, who handed the Felix Dennis New Publisher of the Year Award and £5,000 prize to Emily Hutchings of IPC Media.
The award, funded by Dennis, is given to a candidate on the PTC Diploma in Publishing who has made a significant transition in his or her knowledge of publishing dynamics and publishing skills, and has added value to the business by applying what he or she has learnt on the diploma.
Prior to handing out the eponymous award, Dennis surprised the audience by calling the University of Central Lancashire’s Alice Lipscombe-Southwell back to the stage and making an offer to produce her winning magazine concept Wild.
PTC would like to thanks its sponsors UPM, Polestar, Dovetail, Informa and Affixxius, which produced the video above.
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