The key facts

  • The Bridget Jones Prize is awarded for the funniest first-person piece of 1,000 words
  • Entry is open to unpublished authors without a literary agent living in the north of England
  • The prize will run for three years, from 2027 to 2029

A new prize for comic voices of the north

Bridget Jones's Diary author Helen Fielding has established the Bridget Jones Prize together with the charity New Writing North. The award is intended to find aspiring humorous writers from the north of England. The prize will go to the author of the funniest first-person piece of 1,000 words.

Inequality of opportunity

Speaking at an Independent newspaper event where Bridget's diary was first published in 1995, Fielding said that opportunities for writers in the UK are distributed 'very unevenly': there are far more of them in the south of the country than in the north, where she grew up. In a statement marking the launch of the prize, she noted that the 'comic heart' of Bridget's story grew out of the everyday humour of the people around her in Yorkshire. According to her, the prize is aimed at 'unknown comic voices' — people who simply live their lives, 'quietly making' those around them laugh. Among the writers who influenced her, she named Victoria Wood, Alan Bennett and the duo Morecambe and Wise.

Terms and deadlines

The prize will join New Writing North's Northern Writers' Awards programme and will initially run for three years — from 2027 to 2029. Unpublished authors without a literary agent living in the north of England may apply. The winner will receive £2,000, as well as a support package from Fielding's literary agents and New Writing North. Entries are open from 23 November 2026 to 1 February 2027. The winner's name will be announced at the Northern Writers' Awards ceremony in Newcastle next summer; Fielding will present the award in person.

Context

Fielding's column in the Independent formed the basis of the 1996 bestseller Bridget Jones's Diary, followed by several sequels and film adaptations starring Renée Zellweger. New Writing North representative Will Mackie noted that for the first time in the history of the Northern Writers' Awards there is an award exclusively for comic writing, and called Fielding ideal for finding a new comic voice — the creator of one of the country's most beloved comic characters of the last 30 years.

Renée Zellweger (left) and Helen Fielding pictured together while attending the Bridget Jones Scenes in the Square statue unveiling at Leicester Square, London in 2025Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Bridget Jones author Helen Fielding (right) alongside film star Renée Zellweger

Actress Sally Phillips pulling purple rug and unveiling Bridget Jones statueA still of Renee Zellweger as Bridget Jones, lying in bed writing her diaryHelen Fielding (L) and Renee Zellweger attend the world premiere of Bridget Jones's Baby at Odeon Leicester Square in London in 2016. They both have blonde hair and are wearing black dresses. Both are smiling and looking at the camera.