The Priory Ryan McKay Prize

The Priory Hospital Glasgow is once again proud to announce the launch of the Priory Ryan McKay Prize for 2012 with the chance for budding young writers to win a £1,000 cash prize! 

The Priory Ryan McKay Prize is a national non-fiction writing competition for people aged 13 - 18 which aims to raise awareness of positive mental and physical health among young people, who are most at risk of eating disorders. 

The prize is awarded each year to the young person who writes the best essay on a set topic related to mental and physical health. 

The topic for 2012 entries is ‘What’s Eating You’ 

Ryan McKay was successfully treated at the Priory Hospital Glasgow for an eating disorder and sadly died in a car accident in August 2007, aged 22. His parents decided to honour his memory by working with the Priory Group to raise awareness of positive mental and physical health among young people, who are most at risk of eating disorders. 

Last year, 14-year-old Alana Turnbull from Paisley in Renfrewshire scooped the top prize with her essay entitled “The Pursuit of Happiness”.

Alana’s essay caught the judges eye due to her open and honest depiction of the way media can be extremely influential on how young people view themselves.

After drawing on her own experiences as inspiration for her essay, Alana wrote an emotive piece highlighting pressures the media put on young people to ‘have it all’. Alana describes how people are pigeon-holed by the media, depending on what they look like.

According to B-eat (previously the Eating Disorders Association), there are 1.15 million people suffering from diagnosed and undiagnosed eating disorders throughout the UK, with just 90,000 sufferers currently receiving treatment. 

The competition is open for entries from 30 March 2012. Typed, double-spaced entries of 1,200 words should be emailed to prioryryanmckayprize@priorygroup.com along with your name, address, date of birth and contact telephone number. The deadline for submissions 6 July 2012 and the winner will be announced in late July.

1. The Priory Ryan McKay Prize is open to young people aged 13 - 18 living in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
2. All essays must be submitted by e-mail to: prioryryanmckayprize@priorygroup.com.
3. Only one essay per entrant will be accepted.
4. The closing date for the competition is 6 July 2012.
5. The winner will receive a cheque for £1,000 from the Priory Group; no runners-up prizes will be made, nor will runners-up be announced.
6. No employee of the Priory Group or their immediate families is eligible to enter the Priory Ryan McKay Prize, nor are any employees or their families of the Priory Group's agents or suppliers of any goods and services.
7. The judges' decision will be final and no correspondence will be entered into on this subject.
8. The winner of the competition will be contacted by the Priory Group via e-mail or telephone and announced in late July.
9. The Priory Ryan McKay Prize is owned and administered by Priory Central Services Limited, 21 Exhibition House, Addison Bridge Place, London, W14 8XP.
   The name of the winner will be communicated to all relevant national and regional media outlets.
10. The Priory Group is not responsible for lost, delayed or damaged entries and will not enter into any correspondence on this subject.
11. All entries become the property of Priory Central Services Limited and will not be returned.
12. Essays must be original and not copied from sources in the public domain. Essays must be factually accurate, and must not contain material that constitutes defamation, invasion of privacy, an infringement of the intellectual property rights of any third person, or is otherwise unlawful.
13. By submitting an essay, each entrant acknowledges his or her understanding of and compliance with these rules.

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