National freelancer and co-working space awards

National freelancer and coworking space awards deadline extended to 20^th March: win up to £5000

IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) has extended the deadline for its national freelancer awards to the 20^th March 2020.

The annual awards recognise not only the best freelancers and self-employed from across the UK, but also the people and organisations that support them – such as co-working spaces and ambassadors for the freelancing community. The winners will be announced at the IPSE Awards Ceremony at the Barbican Centre on Thursday 4 June 2020.

The award categories are:

Freelancer of the Year: a prize of £5000 for the UK’s all-round best freelancer aged 26 or over. Past winners have included a journalist, a voice coach and singer, an accent coach and an illustrator. The awards really are open to freelancers in any discipline – and there is also a £2000 prize for the runner-up in the category.

Young Freelancer of the Year: a prize of £3000 for the UK’s best freelancer aged 25 or under. As with Freelancer of the Year, it’s been won by freelancers from many different backgrounds – from journalists to IT wizards – and it really is open to any kind of freelancer.

New to Freelancing: a prize of £3000 for the best freelancer who has taken the leap into self-employment in the last two years. It’s about celebrating the achievements of freelancers who only recently took the brave step of working for themselves.

Freelance Project of the Year: a prize of £1500 for the best individual project by a freelancer. This is about celebrating one piece of truly outstanding work by a freelancer rather than freelancers’ entire businesses.

Coworking Space of the Year: the award to crown the best coworking space from across the UK. Past winners have included Avenue HQ in Liverpool and Duke Studios in Leeds.

Ambassador of the Year: this is the award to celebrate the person who has done most to support and represent the freelance community. The winner is chosen based on events they have organised for freelancers and their wider work supporting the freelance community.

You can nominate for the awards here.

Sarah Harper, Event Manager at IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) said: “Every year, the IPSE Awards celebrate the UK’s best and brightest freelancers – and not only them, but also the people and organisations that do most to support the UK’s ever-growing freelance community.

“As well as terrific prizes of up to £5,000, there is also the recognition the awards give to freelancers from every different industry and walk of life. In the past, winners have included everyone from IT support specialists to voice and accent coaches. And the awards have helped push already amazing freelancers to even loftier heights.

“It’s not just freelancers themselves either: we also want to hear from the UK’s hundreds of brilliant coworking spaces and ambassadors who support the freelance community. So, whatever your connection to the freelancing world, there’s sure to be a category for you, and I would encourage you to put yourself forward. It’s a short submission, for potentially life-changing rewards.”

Rachel Mason, voice coach and singer and 2019 Freelancer of the Year, said: “Winning Freelancer of the Year was such an honour and has made a huge difference to my life.

“I have become braver since my win as I know that the IPSE team and the judges believed in me, so I have launched two new businesses and achieved things I never thought possible.”

For more information visit  IPSE website