Work by previous winners:

The Observer / Burgess prize has awarded nearly £20,000 to emerging writers seeking to make their way in journalism.

Subjects of the winning essays have included the last night of the Proms, Ru-Paul’s Drag Race, Shostakovich at the Royal Opera House, Euripides at the National Theatre, Justin Bieber on tour, books about Bela Lugosi – and many more.

Visit the archive at the Observer website to read entries by previous winners: and be inspired to write your own when the competition opens again in May 2020.

Here are some highlights.

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