The FSF Writers Awards 2011

After sleepless nights, tantrums, and tears we’re very pleased to announce the shortlists for The FSF Writers Awards 2011 in association with Cult Zeros. Of the six categories shortlisted three will be decided by an FSF panel while the Photography Award will be judged by renowned football photographer Stuart Roy Clarke.

The remaining two categories will be voted for by fans: The FSF Fans’ Newspaper of the Year and FSF Football Website of the Year.

**CAST YOUR VOTES VIA THIS LINK**

The FSF Fans’ Newspaper of the Year 2011 award proved a tough one to shortlist as supporters are almost as loyal to their favourite papers as they are to their teams. We received submissions from a huge range of national, local, and specialist newspapers. However, a final six had to be chosen and the panel settled on the below. This category is decided by public vote:

(All nominees listed in alphabetical order)

• Guardian – with a wealth of talented writers and an online presence which is the envy of many, the Grauniad is undoubtedly a fans favourite.
• News of the World – a controversial year for the NotW but its popularity among many fans remains undimmed (as its sales figures most certainly attest). The depth of its coverage throughout the Football League deserves kudos.
• Non-League Paper – NLP readers back the paper with the ferocity of a Wealdstone-era Stuart Pearce tackle thanks to its coverage of stories which might otherwise be missed.
• Observer – thanks to a Sunday supplement crammed full of top-class football writers, lead by the likes of Paul Hayward, it’s no surprise the paper is first choice for many football supporters.
• Sunday Mirror – with an eye for what matters to the masses the Sunday Mirror’s sports team has again proven its fan-friendly credentials.
• Times – for breadth of coverage and quality of writer the Times has proven itself to be in the Champions League of football news and comment.

The FSF Website of the Year 2011. As above the volume and quality of entries made sure the FSF panel’s job was a very, very difficult one. With a heavy sigh and mumbled apology to those who didn’t make the cut, the shortlist for the FSF Website of the Year 2011 is below. This category is decided by public vote:

• European Football Weekends – a must for any self-respecting Europhile with a list of match reports from the continent as long as Ian Ormondroyd’s legs.
• Football Ramble – FR has consistently tickled and informed with its extremely popular podcast. And their bloggers line-up isn’t half bad either.
• In Bed With Maradona – with an eye for the unusual IBWM puts football in its rightful cultural context on a truly global scale.
• Run Of Play – a website of such beautiful imagery it deserves a design award never mind anything else. Don’t let the pretty pictures distract you from the outstanding writing, though.
• Twohundredpercent – a byword for intelligent, online football writing, 200% really should be in your browser’s favourites anyway. If it isn’t, why not?
• Zonal Marking – tactics, tactics, and more tactics. For on-field insight and analysis ZM is the first port of call for legions of fans.

The following categories will be judged by the FSF’s awards panel.

The FSF Football Writer of the Year shortlist:

Anthony Vickers (Middlesbrough Evening Gazette)
David Conn (The Guardian)
Des Kelly (The Daily Mail)
Henry Winter (The Daily Telegraph)
Oliver Kay (The Times)
Sid Lowe (The Guardian / Sports Illustrated)

The FSF Blogger of the Year shortlist:

Andy Green (Andersred)
Andrew Thomas (Twisted Blood)
Chris Mann (The Equaliser)
David Bevan (The Seventy Two)
Kieron O’Connor (Swiss Ramble)
‘Neil Isaacs’ (Surreal Football)

The FSF Fanzine of the Year shortlist:

A Love Supreme (Sunderland)
Boss Mag (Liverpool)
CFCUK (Chelsea)
City Independent (Hull City)
The Square Ball (Leeds United)
United We Stand (Manchester United)

The victorious nominees will be presented with their awards on Saturday 9th July (London). The award ceremony will be part of an FSF comedy panel show featuring, among others, stand-up comedian, comedy writer and Match of the Day 2’s Kevin Day, The Guardian Football Weekly podcast’s mainstay Barry Glendenning, and infamous ranting manager and former Leyton Orient, Gillingham and Millwall player John Sitton. All in all, it promises to be a cracking evening’s entertainment.

All nominees are entitled to two free tickets to the event, and if you’re one of the shortlisted candidates you’ll be hearing from us soon. If you’d like to attend the awards and comedy show make sure you’re an FSF member (you can join here for free) as further details and registration information will be sent around to our members via our Fan Mail e-bulletin, Facebook, and Twitter accounts in the coming weeks.

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