INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY WRITERS WIN AWARDS

TWO writers for the Independent on Sunday won major honours last week in the British Press Awards, organised by the UK Press Gazette.

Richard Williams was judged Sports Feature Writer of the Year for writing that was "colourful, entertaining, moving - everything that great sports writing should be ... When we read Williams we are there with him, and he never fails to deliver the goods."

Robert Fisk was judged Foreign Reporter of the Year for his dispatches on Algeria, the Hebron massacre and "an outstanding piece of reporting" from Bosnia that was published in the Sunday Review. "Foreign reporting at its finest," said the judges.

The daily Independent's Andrew Marr was named Columnist of the Year for writing that was "witty, direct, full of character, often suprising, frequently provoking and always entertaining."

The Independent on Sunday also won the Headline of the Year for its headline on Cal McCrystal's report that investigated the leaked identity of the biggest National Lottery winner from his home town: 4,000 moles in Blackburn Lancashire?

The judges admitted that "the enjoyment, the understanding even, of a headline is an arbitrary thing."