Since studying for an MPhil in American Literature at Corpus, Antonia Cundy (m2017) has carved out an impressive career in journalism which led to her winning multiple awards for her recent coverage of the war in Ukraine.

She won the Marie Colvin Award and was highly commended for New Journalist of the Year at the British Journalism Awards 2022. The judges were impressed with the quality of her writing and her determination as a freelancer to make her way to the war-stricken country and seek out original stories under such challenging circumstances.

“I am overwhelmed to have won the Marie Colvin Award, given in such an inspiring woman's honour. I was also thrilled to be highly commended for New Journalist of the Year. Risk should never be romanticised; it was important to me to work responsibly in Ukraine. I hope this encourages freelancers—your efforts will be recognised, and caution will not limit you,” commented Antonia after the awards ceremony.

“A heartfelt thanks to the people of Ukraine—who took me into their homes, showed me their country, and trusted me to tell others what war means to them,” she added. 

Antonia, who now works as a journalist for the Financial Times, was also named Newcomer of the year at the Free Press Awards 2022.

She is very humble about her success but does credit her tutor at Corpus for encouraging her to take the first step of sharing her work. “I owe it to my postgrad tutor for suggesting I pitch my interview with author Sergio de la Pava (the subject of my thesis who I interviewed in New York) to an arts magazine or newspaper, alongside my academic use of it. It ended up in the FT — and got me a foot in the door there a few years ago. Which is where I’ve circled back now to work full-time after freelancing for a few years.”