THE Daily Echo is on the shortlist for a national award to recognise the success of its Poet-in-Residence project with poet Polly Clark.

Each year the Financial Times/Arts and business Awards recognise exceptional partnerships between business and the arts, and in 2002 the Daily Echo and poet-in-residence Polly have been shortlisted in the Arts, Business and Community category.

The awards will be announced on Monday at a glitzy event in London's Queen Elizabeth II Hall. Winners are chosen from hundreds of nominations across the country. Since September 2000, Polly Clark has been in residence at the Echo, beginning first by writing poems for the paper and choosing a reader's Daily Poem.

She said: "Over the last two years the project has just grown and grown.

"The response from readers has been fantastic, with hundreds of entries to The Echo's writing competitions, and a real writing community growing up around Saturday's Creative Corner.

"As the project has grown it has attracted more funding, allowing famous writers to be commissioned and the development of the exciting School's Echo project."

Editor Ian Murray said, "The residency has allowed the Daily Echo to reach its readers in a new way and to broaden and deepen the paper's relationship with its community.

"There is no other project quite like this in the country and we are thrilled that its success is being recognised."

There are more developments planned for Polly's residency.

The next Creative Writing Special is published on December 7 and there is still time to enter the Christmas writing competition!

Cantell and Priestlands Schools will be publishing their own copies of the School's Echo soon.

The biggest event of all will be the Kids Verse 2003 campaign, which will be a regionwide poetry competition open to all children under 16.

CREATIVE CORNER IS FEATURED ON OUR WEBSITE WHERE YOU CAN READ THE LATEST NEWS, POEMS AND SHORT STORIES PLUS FIND DETAILS ON HOW TO ENTER THE CHRISTMAS WRITING COMPETITION. Go to: http://www.thisissouthampton.co.uk/hampshire/southampton/community/creativecorner/