A weekly newspaper only launched last autumn is in line for five top prizes at this year’s Regional Press Awards as th shortlists for next month’s event are unveiled.

The Cambridge Independent has been nominatede for four individual awards and one team prize in a shortlist otherwise dominated by big-city titles.

The Yorkshire Post leads the way in the race for nominations with eight, including Daily/Sunday Newspaper of the Year, followed by the Manchester Evening News with seven and the Bristol Post and Irish News with six apiece.

Both the Derby Telegraph and the Oxford Mail also secured five nominations, alongside the Iliffe-owned Independent, which hit the streets for the first time in September last year.

The awards, which aim to highlight the best of UK local journalism are organised by the Society of Editors and held in association with the Press Association, HoldtheFrontPage, the News Media Association and the Journalists Charity.

Prizes will be handed out at a lunchtime ceremony to be held at the Marriott Grosvenor Square Hotel on Friday 19 May.

Chairman of the judges Paul Horrocks said: “Looking at the entries this year, the judges were incredibly impressed by the standard of campaigning undertaken in the newsrooms of the regional and local press. The sheer scale of newspaper teams bringing communities together was a genuine pleasure to see.

“The Society of Editors is delighted to be hosting the awards once again and we look forward to raising a glass with the best of the regional and local media at the lunchtime ceremony in May.”

The awards ceremony will once again be hosted by LBC radio presenter Nick Ferrari.

Tickets are available from Angela Varley at [email protected] or on 01223 304080 and are priced at £80, or £90 for those outside the industry.

The full shortlist is as follows:

YOUNG JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR – sponsored by HoldTheFrontPage

Esme Ashcroft, Bristol Post
Jack Averty, Express & Star, Wolverhampton
Nick Carding, Eastern Daily Press
Jack Maguire, Jersey Evening Post
Hannah Somerville, Oxford Mail
Keiran Southern, The Chronicle, Newcastle

BUSINESS AND FINANCE JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR – sponsored by Foot Anstey

Coreena Ford, The Journal, Newcastle
Graham Huband, The Courier, Dundee
Robin Johnson, Derby Telegraph
Lizzie Murphy, The Yorkshire Post
Gill Oliver, Oxford Mail
Les Reid, Coventry Observer

ENVIRONMENT JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR – sponsored by United Utilities

Maureen Hodges, News & Star, Carlisle and The Cumberland News
Pete Hughes, Oxford Mail
Alex Kirby, Cambridge Independent
Gemma Mackenzie, Aberdeen Press and Journal
Paula Thelwell, Jersey Evening Post

SPECIALIST WRITER OF THE YEAR

Ciaran Barnes, Sunday Life
Nick Carding, Eastern Daily Press
Aasma Day, Lancashire Evening Post
Pam McGowan, News & Star, Carlisle
Jeanette Oldham, Birmingham Mail
Jennifer Williams, Manchester Evening News

SCIENCE AND EDUCATION JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR – sponsored by IP Group

Martin George, Eastern Daily Press
Emily Pearce, Isle of Wight County Press
Tim Radford, Cambridge Independent
Luke Sproule, Oxford Mail
Michael Yong, Bristol Post

FEATURE WRITER OF THE YEAR

Tristan Cork, Bristol Post
Aasma Day, Lancashire Evening Post
Louis Emanuel, Bristol24/7
Sarah Freeman, The Yorkshire Post
Trevor Heaton, Eastern Daily Press
Tom Richmond, The Yorkshire Post

COLUMNIST OF THE YEAR – sponsored by Asda

Robert Campbell, Western Daily Press
Emma Clayton, Bradford Telegraph & Argus
Tristan Cork, Bristol Post
Jarlath Kearney, The Irish News
Allison Morris, The Irish News
Gail Walker, Belfast Telegraph

WEEKLY SPORTS JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR

Jon Colman, The Cumberland News
Daniel Evans, Bath Chronicle
Chris Harby, Melton Times
Les Reid, Coventry Observer
Paul Rogers, Hereford Times
Mark Taylor, Cambridge Independent

DAILY/SUNDAY SPORTS JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR

Jon Colman, News & Star, Carlisle
Mark Douglas, The Journal, Newcastle
Danny Hall, The Star, Sheffield
Neil Loughran, The Irish News
James Sharpe, Leicester Mercury
Andy Watters, The Irish News

WEEKLY REPORTER OF THE YEAR – sponsored by UK Power Networks

Phil Coleman, The Cumberland News
Ben Comber, Cambridge Independent
Gareth Davies, Croydon Advertiser
Pam McGowan, The Cumberland News
Charles Thomson, Yellow Advertiser
Emma Youle, Archant Investigations Unit

DAILY/SUNDAY REPORTER OF THE YEAR – sponsored by UK Power Networks

Isaac Crowson, Derby Telegraph
Rob Golledge, Express & Star, Wolverhampton
Ali Gordon, Sunday Life
Allison Morris, The Irish News
Andy Richards, Birmingham Mail
John Scheerhout, Manchester Evening News

WEEKLY PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

Phil Cannings, Newbury Weekly News
Sonya Duncan, Diss Mercury
Michael Gillen, The Falkirk Herald
Matthew Walker, Kent Messenger
Stuart Walker, The Cumberland News
Mark Williamson, Stratford-upon-Avon Herald

DAILY/SUNDAY PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR

Jennie Banks, Bristol Post
Sarah Caldecott, The Northern Echo
Andrew Cawley, Sunday Post
Simon Hulme, The Yorkshire Post
Tony Johnson, The Yorkshire Post
Kris Miller, The Courier, Dundee

DESIGNER OF THE YEAR

Gary Beckwith, The Chronicle, Newcastle
Ian Bond, Hull Daily Mail
Kathryn Clarke-Mcleod, Western Morning News
David Lewins, Bristol Post
Luke Martin, Trinity Mirror Southern
Adam Walker, Media Wales

SUPPLEMENT OF THE YEAR

20 Years on from the bomb, Manchester Evening News
Scottish Government Report Card, The Courier, Dundee
The 96: In the words of their families – Liverpool Echo
The Magazine, The Yorkshire Post
Weekend, Belfast Telegraph
Week End Magazine, Western Mail

THE DIGITAL AWARD – sponsored by JTI

aberfan.walesonline.co.uk, WalesOnline
belfasttelegraph.co.uk, Belfast Telegraph
Blood Red and Royal Blue, Liverpool Echo
Euro 2016, Wales Online
Trinity Mirror Data Unit, Trinity Mirror
yoppul.co.uk, Isle of Wight County Press

WEBSITE OF THE YEAR – sponsored by JTI

www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
www.birminghammail.co.uk
www.edp24.co.uk
www.liverpoolecho.co.uk
www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk
www.walesonline.co.uk

FRONT PAGE OF THE YEAR

9.13am, Western Mail
Held by her hero, Derry News
Our Jo, Yorkshire Evening Post
The Day Britain Changed, Western Daily Press
The Saddest Silence, South Wales Echo
We’re Out…And he’s out too, Manchester Evening News

SCOOP OF THE YEAR – sponsored by Google

Amazon, The bleak reality of a Christmas contract, Craig Smith, The Courier, Dundee
Care workers face sack for ‘taunting dementia patients’, Todd Fitzgerald, Manchester Evening News
Horrors of Aston Hall, Isaac Crowson, Derby Telegraph
Links revealed between police ‘cover-ups’ five years apart, Rob Parsons, The Yorkshire Post
Pennine Acute: The Shocking Trust, Jennifer Williams, Manchester Evening News
Unmasked: Isis Terror Queen, Ali Gordon, Sunday Life

CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR – sponsored by Asda

Amelia Scott, The Chronicle, Newcastle
Birmingham Pub Bombing, Birmingham Mail
Can It, The Courier, Dundee
Cancer scanner campaign, The Echo, Basildon
Drive for Justice, Johnston Press
The Horrors of Aston Hall Hospital, Derby Telegraph

WEEKLY NEWSPAPER (BELOW 15,000)

Cambridge Independent
Derry News
Great Yarmouth Mercury
Herald Series
Kentish Gazette
The Oxford Times

WEEKLY NEWSPAPER (ABOVE 15,000)

Camden New Journal
Hereford Times
Isle of Wight County Press
Kent Messenger
Maidenhead Advertiser
The Cumberland News

DAILY/SUNDAY NEWSPAPER (BELOW 20,000)

Bradford Telegraph & Argus
Derby Telegraph
Dundee Evening Telegraph
Oxford Mail
Sunday Mercury
Western Mail

DAILY/SUNDAY NEWSPAPER (ABOVE 20,000)

Eastern Daily Press
Hull Daily Mail
Sunday Life
Sunday Post
The Irish News
The Yorkshire Post