Games Media Awards: The finalists are revealed

An array of talents make up the shortlist for this year’s Games Media Awards.

Taking place on the evening of October 15th at the Bloomsbury Ballroom, the Games Media Awards celebrate the best in writing about games and coverage of interactive entertainment – across the written word, audio, and video, from independent freelancers through to major media outlets.

Today we’re unveiling the finalists in our ten categories – eight of which have been voted for by panels of games journalists and their peers in the games business, and two special awards which will be voted for by consumers and event attendees respectively.

There are over 60 different writers, media outlets (including podcast brands and video channels) vying for prizes.

The full set of shortlists for each award can be found below.

How were these finalists decided? We ran an open entry period from July to August, which gathered more entries for the GMAs than ever before. Then in the last few weeks, we have been asking judging panels to read through and select their favourite media stars and pieces of writing.

The finalists are the leading names in each categories – but the winners for News Writer, Games Critic, Features Writer, Rising Star, Video, Radio or Podcast, and the print and online Editorial Team prizes won’t be announced until October 15th.

Voting for the public-vote Gamers’ Choice award powered by Playfire will open shortly, while media attendees on the night at the Games Media Awards will be invited to vote in the flesh for Journalists’ Journalist.

The GMAs are proudly sponsored by Sega (Rising Star award partner), Green Man Gaming / Playfire (Gamers’ Choice award partner), EA SPORTS’ FIFA 15 (After-Party sponsor), DC Thomson’s 110% Gaming and Gamescom (event partners).

To find out more about sponsorship and getting involved in the biggest event for UK games media, contact Alex.Boucher@intentmedia.co.uk or call him on 01992 535 647.

The GMAs are free to invited media (including the finalists) but trade tickets are available for non-media. Contact Conor.Tallon@intentmedia.co.uk or call him on 01992 535 647 to book your seats.

NEWS WRITER

• Dave Cook
• Edwin Evans-Thirlwell
• Matthew Reynolds
• mcspotlights
• Tom Phillips
• Wesley Yin-Poole

FEATURES WRITER

• Christian Donlan
• Keith Stuart
• Mark Brown
• Martyn McLaughlin
• Simon Parkin
• Stuart Dredge

GAMES CRITIC

• Andy Kelly
• Chris Schilling
• Harry Slater
• Keza MacDonald
• Matt Kamen
• Matthew Castle
• Nathan Brown

RISING STAR – sponsored by SEGA

• Angus Morrison
• Hamish Todd
• Jim Trinca
• Kirk McKeand
• LukeKarmali
• Ria Jenkins

PODCAST OR RADIO SHOW

• Chet and Jon’s Reassuringly Finite Playlist
• Daft Souls
• Game On
• GlitchFreeGaming
• One Life Left
• StickTwiddlers Podcast
• The Explosive Alan Podcast
• The Sausage Factory

VIDEO

• App Spy
• BitSocket
• Expert Super Guide
• Matt Lees
• Other Places
• Outside Xbox
• VideoGamer TV
• GTA V O’clock

EDITORIAL TEAM – PRINT

• Edge
• gamesTM
• Official PlayStation Magazine
• OXM
• PC Gamer
• The Observer

EDITORIAL TEAM OF THE YEAR – ONLINE

• CVG
• Eurogamer
• Kotaku UK
• PC GamesN
• RockPaperShotgun
• Total Xbox

GAMERS’ CHOICE – powered by Playfire

• The Real Games Journalist interviews Mike Bithell by Gav Murphy for CVG
• Inside Monopoly’s Secret War Against the Third Reich by Christian Donlan for Eurogamer
• Disabled Gamers: Part of Your World by Jordan Erica Webber for Kotaku UK
• Hands-on with Fiona Bruce: BBC uploads the UK’s favourite news personality to Oculus Rift by Steve Hogarty for PC Games N
• Dragon Age’s first ‘fully gay’ character by Aoife Wilson for OXM Blog
• American Roads and Game Design: A Love Letter by Cara Ellison for Kotaku UK
• The Video Game Invasion of Iraq by Simon Parkin for The New Yorker
• The Last Of Us: Left Behind is a masterful, affectionate and poignant farewell by Chris Schilling for Edge Online
• Chico’s Tape 4 by Ria Jenkins
• Day Z: An Anthropological Study by Angus Morrison for RE:Roll
• Escaping into Skyrim by Anonymous for Midnight Resistance
• IGN UK Podcast – Episode 243: The Blabber Dook

JOURNALISTS’ JOURNALIST

• Keith Stuart
• Simon Parkin
• Ellie Gibson
• Guy Cocker
• Matthew Castle
• Julia Hardy