Read now: Winning submissions for Lance Hardy Writing Competition

Towards the end of 2023, Foundation of Light run the Lance Hardy Writing Competition in memory of the late author and Sunderland AFC supporter.

Lance, a former BBC sports editor, producer and author, started writing Sir Bob Murray’s autobiography, I’d Do It All Again, before sadly passing away in 2021. The book was completed by his friend and editor, Ian Preece.

To honour Lance’s talents, Foundation of Light encouraged aspiring authors to share their stories or commit their own sporting experiences to paper influenced by one of the three topics - My First Match, Football and Mining Heritage or more generally under the title Inspired by Sport.

Submissions to three age categories – Up to 11 years, 12 to 15 years, and aged 16 years and over – were judged by a distinguished sports writing panel: Henry Winter, Chief Football Writer for The Times, SAFC Historian Rob Mason, Toby Trotman, Commercial Director of Vision Sports Publishing and David Luxton, Literary Agent.

Budding writers Ava Willis and Max Ray topped the under-11 and under-16 categories respectively. The stand-out submission for over-16s was Milo Challis.

We are pleased to now bring supporters the opportunity to read the excellent winning submissions:

Milo Challis – Pride, Passion, Wearside.

Milo uses his own experience of arriving to Sunderland as an outsider and finding home in Sunderland AFC to wonderfully encapsulate the magic of matchday.

Click to Read - Pride, Passion, Wearside.

Inspired by Sport – Max Ray

Inspired by some of his happiest memories as a Sunderland supporter, Max exhilaratingly weaves you through the 2021/22 League One play-off run and that day at Wembley.

Click to Read - Inspired by Sport

Their First Match – Ava Willis

In a thought-provoking twist of one of the influencing topics, Ava puts herself in the shoes of a World War One soldier after the Christmas Truce of 1914.

Click to Read - Their First Match