Young journalists sought for £25,000 Anthony Howard prize

Applications have opened for the second round of a £25,000 bursary scheme for young journalists who want to write about politics and government.

The prize was set up last year by Haymarket Media Group in memory of Anthony Howard, the political journalist and commentator who died in 2010 and who was a lifelong friend of the Haymrket founder Lord Heseltine (pictured above with last year's winner).

Candidates must be under 27, with a keen interest in politics, and should propose a subject for a 5,000 word essay on British politics and government for publication in 2015.

The successful candidate will serve three successive internships of 14 weeks each, starting in October this year, at the Times, the Observer and the New Statesman.

The first winner last year was Lucy Fisher, a Sunday Times reporter who wanted to investigate how a handful of backbench MPs have used select committee membership to gain prominence in Westminster, build a media profile and hence significantly advance their careers.

Applicants this year should outline how they would propose to research their chosen subject. They should also include an example of their writing, published or unpublished, and a short CV.

Applications close on May 1 and the details and rules can be found at https://anthonyhowardaward.org.uk

Anthony Howard was a former New Statesman editor and Observer deputy editor. Over half a century in journalism Howard wrote for a number of leading newspapers – predominantly The Guardian and Times – was a frequent broadcast political commentator and in later years worked as obituaries editor of The Times.