The Mogford Prize for Food and Drink Writing is excited to announce beloved novelist, poet and playwright Sir Michael Morpurgo and award-winning TV chef Andi Oliver as the judges of our 2022 short story prize.

Judge Michael Morpurgo (who hardly needs an introduction!) is the author of over a hundred novels. Over his 45-year career, Michael’s stories have been shortlisted for or won prizes including The Carnegie Medal and The Costa Children’s Book Award. His novel War Horse was adapted into an Olivier Award-winning stage play and an Academy Award-nominated film directed by Stephen Spielberg. We couldn’t think of a better judge to assess the literary merit of our submitted short stories.

Photo credit: Phil Crow

Andi Oliver, with her passion for food and culture, will be a familiar face to viewers of the BBC’s ‘Great British Menu’, Sky Arts’ ‘Book Club Live’ and Channel 4’s ‘Food Unwrapped’. An award-winning writer and chef in her own right, Andi will make a brilliant judge for the £10,000 food-and-drink-themed writing competition; one of the largest literary prizes in the UK.

Our 2022 judges Michael and Andi join a cohort of judging alumni with a keen interest in both the literary and the gastronomic. Past judges of the short story prize, tasked with sifting through our longlist to find the very best stories about food and drink, include a number of prize-winners in their own right. In 2019 we enjoyed the talents of Julian Barnes, winner of the Man Booker prize and the David Cohen Prize for Literature, as one of our judges. Emmy Award-winner Stephen Fry, author of 8 novels, lent his critical eye to the short story prize in 2020. Bill Bryson OBE HonFRS, Guardian Fiction Prize-winner Sir Philip Pullman and the multi-award-winning poet and playwright Lemn Sissay OBE have also joined the team in past years to help us find the very best tale with food and drink at its heart.

In terms of food and drink-based acumen, past iterations of the competition have seen an array of celebrated experts join the judging team. In the 2020 competition, Dame Prue Leith DBE, best selling cookery writer and Great British Bake Off star, helped us to select our overall winner. Tim Hayward, the Financial Times critic named Fortnum and Mason Food Writer of the Year, joined the team in 2019 to help us find the winner of our £10,000 prize. Bestselling food writer Lorraine Pascale, TV personality Rick Stein OBE and on-screen favourite Dame Mary Berry have also come on board over the years to find the very best short story.

Together, Andi and Michael will join prize-founder Jeremy Mogford to decide the overall winner of one of the UK’s largest writing competitions for short stories. The judges will award the author of the winning tale, which must somehow focus on food and/or drink, with a prize of £10,000, publication and a professional audio recording of their short story by The Story Player.

All authors shortlisted for the writing competition will also be invited to attend The Mogford Prize Party hosted by Jeremy Mogford in Oxford, UK. Each writer will receive a night’s accommodation at one of The Oxford Collection’s five-star, luxury hotels and all travel expenses agreed in advance will be covered by Jeremy Mogford including, where necessary, economy flights.

Entries for The Mogford Prize will open on Monday 8th November 2021. Writers should submit their food and drink-themed short story through our website to be in with a chance of winning one of the UK’s largest writing competitions and the top prize of £10,000. Entries will close on Wednesday January 12th 2022. Prospective authors can find out more about our rules and eligibility by visiting our website.

In 2021, to celebrate 10 years of The Mogford Prize for Food and Drink Writing, Jeremy Mogford and The Oxford Collection have pledged £10,000 to PEN International. Founded in 1921, PEN promotes literature, journalism and all forms of the written word. Opposing any form of oppression of freedom of expression, the organisation works on behalf of persecuted writers worldwide.

In recognition of their gift, PEN International has named Jeremy and The Oxford Collection as one of their Centenary Patrons, joining a roster of donors including Penguin Random House, Hachette, Yann Martel and Margaret Atwood.

Written by: Dr Mariah Whelan – Prize Press and PR Manager