Letter from the i editor: Unearthing student writing talent

Your i needs you! Hot on the heels of “Cartoonist Idol” (remember, the deadline for that is the end of this weekend and the address is icartoons@independent.co.uk), we are pleased to announce a new competition aimed at unearthing student writing talent.

Do you fancy yourself as a new Matthew Norman, Christina Patterson, or Dominic Lawson? i is looking for new, lively student columnists to whom we will give a first break. We will offer one or two slots a week, depending on the quality of entrants, to those students amongst you who can produce 400 words of concise, quality opinion on the subjects of the day. It’s not as easy as you think, so to help you out we will suggest a few topics: the Amanda Knox verdict when it comes, the possible rise in the motorway speed limit to 80mph, Theresa May’s proposed scrapping of the Human Rights Act and the Tevez-Mancini affair.

Please send us two 400-word columns — one or both of which should be on the above subjects. You can choose one of your own topics if you wish, but at least one of your entries must be from the list because we are looking for columnists who are able to write to order, if needed. So email us at: iwriters@independent.co.uk by Monday 10 October, with the two columns, plus details of both your course and place of education.

We will offer the best of you a rotating slot in i, which will come with a caveat: we will be inviting i readers to judge your work. They can be harsh. Please remember, we want opinion columnists, not letter writers (as in this spot). So, you will need to express a clear opinion. And, i is a family paper, so no swearing! Happy typing.