The shortlist for the Maritime Media Awards 2017 has been unveiled today, demonstrating an extraordinary range of talent, with major works covering both historical and contemporary themes.
Julian Parker, chairman of the judging committee, said: “This year we have had a record number of nominations for all the award categories, which reflects growing public interest in the importance of the sea and its influence on our way of life.”
The shortlist for the Mountbatten Maritime Award for best literary contribution is:
- Jonathan Anderson and Edwin Low – Voyages (Lucky Panda Press/Anderson & Low)
- Andrew Boyd – The Royal Navy in Eastern Waters: Linchpin of Victory 1935-1942 (Seaforth Publishing)
- Reginald Cogswell – Exeter: A Cruiser of the Medium Size (Navy Books)
- Nic Compton – The Shipping Forecast (BBC Books/Penguin)
- Steve R Dunn – Securing the Narrow Sea: The Dover Patrol 1914-1918 (Seaforth Publishing)
- James Irvine, Brian Budge, Jude Callister, Issy Grieve, Kevin Heath, Andrew Hollinrake, Keith Johnson, Neil Kermode, Michael Lowrey, Tom Muir, Emily Turton and Ben Wade – HMS Hampshire: A Century of Myths and Mysteries Unravelled (The Orkney Heritage Society)
- James Kendra and Tricia Wachtendorf – American Dunkirk: The Waterborne Evacuation of Manhattan on 9/11 (Temple University Press, USA)
- Emma Jane Kirby – The Optician of Lampedusa (Penguin)
- Peter Lyon – Merchant Seafaring Through World War I (Book Guild)
- Jan Rüger – Heligoland: Britain, Germany and the Struggle for the North Sea (Oxford University Press)
- Captain V S Parani – Golden Stripes: Leadership on the High Seas (Whittles Publishing)
- Conrad Waters (Editor) – Navies in the 21st Century (Seaforth Publishing)
- Stephanie Zarach – Trading History: The Baltic Exchange since the 18th Century (The Baltic Exchange)
The Mountbatten Maritime Award for best literary contribution is one of six honours to be announced at the annual Maritime Media Awards dinner on Wednesday, 8 November. Other awards include The Desmond Wettern Award for best journalistic contribution, The Donald Gosling Award for best television or film contribution and The First Sea Lord’s Digital Media Award for best use of digital and social media. The video presentation this year is titled Seaguard.
“This has been an exceptional year of increased maritime awareness and we are greatly looking forward to announcing the winners after the dinner,” said Mr Parker. “This year’s submissions encompass an extraordinary range of maritime topics with intelligence, insight and expertise.”
A new annual publication, Maritime 2017, will be launched at the dinner. Its aim is to expand the horizons of maritime awareness. The cover theme, “Can the ocean recover?”, is introduced by Professor Callum Roberts’s article, “The state of the oceans”, and examined from different perspectives by many other contributors, including Peter Horn of the Pew Trusts, who describes initiatives to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. The geopolitics of the oceans are addressed by Rear Admiral Chris Parry in his article on the freedom of the seas, which questions whether the existing ‘rules-based system’ can survive new challenges and maritime territorial disputes, while Dr Dave Sloggett considers Britain’s coastal security. Other topics include Britain’s new aircraft carriers, the prospects for British merchant shipping and the UK ship register, and maritime education and training – with a look at some imaginative projects designed to boost young people’s confidence, skills and understanding of the sea.
Julian Parker added: “With the awards and this new publication, our aim is to raise the level of awareness across disciplines but also to convince the public that, for an island nation, the sea is not just a troublesome barrier but a key resource in any strategy concerning Britain’s future prosperity.”
Notes to editors
- The annual Maritime Media Awards dinner will be held at the Institute of Directors, 119 Pall Mall, London, on Wednesday, 8 November. Places are still available and reservation forms can be found at www.bmcf.org.uk/awards/awards-dinner
- The Maritime Foundation’s purpose is to promote Britain’s interests across the entire maritime sector and to inform and raise public and parliamentary awareness of the importance of Britain’s maritime industries, commerce and defence through education, training and research, as well as through the Foundation’s annual Maritime Media Awards.
- The Maritime Media Awards were established in 1995, in memory of Desmond Wettern, former naval correspondent of the Daily Telegraph.
- Details of past winners can be found at www.bmcf.org.uk/awards/awards-winners