An increased number of categories have been announced for this year’s edition of an awards scheme recognising young journalists.

Entries are now being welcomed for the MHP 30 to Watch list, which each year features 30 journalists under the age of 30 who are judged to be making a difference to the UK media industry.

From the final list of 30, judges will this year choose eight gold winners in the fields of news, health, entertainment and lifestyle, business/trade pres, financial, politics , campaigns and investigations and foreign news.

Regional journalists to feature on the list in recent years include Kent Live’s Sian Elvin, pictured, Courtney Cameron, of the Edinburgh Evening News, and Sam Blackledge, of the Plymouth Herald.

The awards, now in their eighth year, are run by communications agency MHP.

Members of this year’s judging panel include Debbie Ramsay, editor of BBC Radio One Newsbeat, Daily Mails deputy political editor John Stevens and Tolani Shoneye, a former 30 To Watch gold winner and host of Receipts podcast.

Ian Kirby, head of the MHP strategic media unit, said: “We are really proud of 30 To Watch. It gets bigger and better every year and it’s a genuine pleasure to see so many of our rising stars become established figures in the media.

“The fact we have such a brilliant set of judges is proof of the stature of this event. Former winners who are now established industry figures are backing 30 To Watch as an important moment in the media calendar.”

The awards are free to enter for any journalist working full-time for any UK title, including newspapers, magazines, websites and broadcasters.

The only other requirement is that entrants must be 30 or under at the time the submitted work was published.

People can nominate themselves, a friend or a colleague, and the closing date for entries is midnight on 11 April.

The awards night will take place at News UK’s London headquarters on 30 May. Full details of the awards, including a link to the nomination form, are available here.