By Brontë Schiltz
After months of hard work from writers, editors, artists and designers, the aAh! team were delighted to launch our second print edition, the YES issue, at a wine reception at Number 70 last month.
The festivities were inaugurated with a speech from James Draper, the head of Manchester Metropolitan University’s hugely successful Writing School, which fosters the talents of some of aAh!’s contributors. James praised the gifts, diligence and accomplishments of everyone involved in the production of the print issue as well as the aAh! website, sentiments echoed by myself and by head print editor, Grace Atkinson, in our subsequent speeches.
Heightening the atmosphere of pride which by this point permeated the room, the speeches were followed by an awards ceremony, which allowed the head editorial team to recognise the incredible efforts made by the aAh! team.
The winners of these awards are as follows:
Freelance Writer of the Year: Ben Thompson
Opinion Writer of the Year: Shawna Healey
Culture Writer of the Year: Camilla Whitfield
New Writer of the Year: Ben Townsend
Section Editor of the Year: Georgina Hurdsfield
Featured Artist of the Year: Jade Hannah Smallshaw
Featured Photographer of the Year: Georgina Hurdsfield
Outstanding Contribution to Marketing and Promotion: Zeina Al-Muhtaseb
Outstanding Contribution to Social Media Campaigns: Helena Smith
Outstanding Contribution to Print Media: Grace Atkinson
After a wonderful evening which offered the head editorial team the opportunity to recognise and celebrate the talents of all those who make aAh! possible, there could have been no better way to close the formalities than with readings of the three poems which feature in the YES issue, Andrea Marie Petrie’s speculative ‘What If God Were One Of Us’, Amber Walker’s brooding ‘When The World Ends’, and, performed by the poet herself, Laura Potts’ poignant ‘Friday’, perfectly encapsulating the diversity of talent which aAh! seeks to celebrate.
If the evening was anything to go by, it would seem that we’re succeeding.
You can read the YES issue via our homepage. To get involved, visit out work with us page – we always welcome new contributors!
Featured image and gallery: Lucy Elson-Whittaker It’s that time of year again: Manchester Psych Fest returns with one of its toughest line-ups yet, forcing festivalgoers to make some difficult choices about where to spend their day. With so much packed across the city, sacrifices are inevitable. Racing across Manchester, we catch four standout sets spanning…
Featured image: Georgina Hurdsfield After the considerably grey weather of the weekend, Sunday morning started with a spell of glorious sunshine to wake the people of Leeds Festival, a spot of cheer going into the dreaded final day of the weekend. But, of course, it wouldn’t be a proper festival weekend without the flash downpours,…
Featured image: Henry Redcliffe Not to be outshined by the artists performing today, the rain makes its inevitable return to the skies of Yorkshire over Leeds Festival. With the downpours hardly taking a break, Saturday is the day for the indie-heads and brats, as two of the most anticipated acts of the weekend take the…
Featured image: Georgina Hurdsfield Despite the dreary weather forecast, it seems the explosive noise of the night before has blown away the expected torrential rain, as the sun fights through the clouds to shine over Leeds Festival on Friday. With the opening of the ‘other’ stages, the first double headliner, and a very special birthday,…
Leave a reply