Manchester Blog Awards 2008

It's that time again. Nominations are now open for the 2008 Manchester Blog Awards. Here are this year's categories:

Best New Blog: You're in the running if your blog got started after August 1, 2007. It's that simple.

Best Writing on a Blog: This category recognizes some of the excellent writing people round here are publishing on their blogs. Your blog doesn't have to be a "writer's blog", though. It could be about anything; it's the quality of the prose we're interested in, not the subject matter.

Best Arts and Culture Blog: A blog that covers some aspect of cultural life or leisure in Manchester. So yes, that means art and music, but also food or sport.

Best Personal Blog: If your blog is like your online journal, this is where you fit in.

Best Neighborhood Blog: This new category has been created in response to the upturn in hyper-local online writing; some may have noticed that the "City and Neighborhood" section of the Manchizzle blogroll has grown considerably this year. You're a contender if you focus your bloggage on a particular locale, which could be a nabe (i.e. Gorton) or a wider area (South Manchester, or even the whole city of Manchester.)

Each winner will receive a cash prize, be the envy of all their geekfriends and gain admission into Manchester's special section of blogger Valhalla after death. Mind the rules:

To qualify, you have to live, work, or go to school within commuting distance of Manchester. And you can't work for the Manchester Literature Festival or MDDA, our valiant sponsors.

You can nominate your own blog, as well as someone else's. Get your nominations in by 6pm on Thursday, September 18. Email them to mancblogawards AT googlemail.com, clearly stating your name, where you live, the name and url of of the blog(s) you're nominating and which category or categories you're nominating for.

The shortlist will be announced in late September and the 2008 Blog Awards shindig is October 22 at Matt and Phred's. For further updates check out the manchizzle.blogspot, where Blog Awards coordinator, Kate Feld, will be posting interviews with past winners to give you all some insight into what makes blogs work.

Pasing Down

What makes you, you?
Is it your genes? Your environment? Do you chose?
How much does what you are told about your forebears matter?
Is blood really thicker than water?

Passing Down is a project that explores the role of genetics and of family stories in making us what we are. Poet Helen Clare and artist Lynn Setterington are working together to find out what people think and feel about inheritance and their identity and embroidering their testimony into a piece of art. They are also taking to scientists who work in the field. The final art work will be launched as part of the Big Science Read.

They’d like as many people as possible to get involved, so if you are interested in making a contribution or finding out more take a look at the project blog at http://genesandstories.blogspot.com/ or e-mail genesandstories@gmail.com

This project is run in collaboration with Manchester Literature Festival and Manchester Science Festival and is funded by Arts Council England.