Jimmy McGovern; crime writing prize; dancing in lockdown; photographer Tyler Mitchell

Published: July 24, 2020, 9:06 a.m.

In July 2005 Anthony Walker an 18 year old black man was killed in a racist attack in Huyton, Merseyside. Jimmy McGovern’s new BBC drama Anthony - inspired by conversations with Gee Walker, Anthony's mother – is a 90 minute film looking at what his life might have been like had he lived. The story works backwards from him imagined at age 25 – married, a father and on his way to a successful career as a lawyer - to the night of his death. Adrian McKinty almost gave up writing but was persuaded to give another shot with a storyline that had been bubbling away in his head for several years, and now the book he wrote has won the UK's most prestigious prize for crime fiction. His psychological thriller The Chain has been named as the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel Of The Year. The closure of theatres and performance venues during the pandemic has affected many artists, but for dancers it’s been particularly hard. The future is uncertain especially for those young dancers about to embark on a career in the industry. Sharon Watson is the CEO and Principal of the Northern School of contemporary Dance in Leeds. How has the college continued to prepare its students for the future, and what now for those young dancers looking for work in an arts industry struggling to survive? 25-year-old Tyler Mitchell has quickly and suddenly become one of the most in-demand photographers in the world. In 2018, his portrait of Beyoncé on the front of American Vogue made him the first black photographer—and one of the youngest people ever - to create a cover in the magazine’s 125-year history. His new book, I Can make You Feel Good presents his vision of what he calls Black utopia .