We are delighted to announce that the Mental Health Foundation Fringe Award will return this year thanks to renewed support from the Cornwell Charitable Trust.

The award was established in 2017 in recognition of the most compelling new show about mental health at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. 

The Cornwell Charitable Trust has sponsored the award since 2023, allowing us to offer the winner a £3k cash prize plus a flexible package of additional support tailored to the future development of the show. This may include mentoring support, mental health training, travel costs, or support with additional costs such as wellbeing practitioners.

The Cornwell Charitable Trust had pledged to support the award for three years but have now agreed to sponsor it again in 2026. The partnership was set up in tribute to the late arts journalist Tim Cornwell, who had been part of the judging panel for the Mental Health Foundation Fringe Award before his death in June 2022, drawing on his own experiences of being bipolar. The award is dedicated each year to Tim’s memory.

The Mental Health Foundation Fringe Award is presented by the Mental Health Foundation in partnership with the Scotsman newspaper, for whom journalist Tim Cornwell worked for many years as its arts correspondent. The winner will be announced as part of the long-running Scotsman Fringe First Awards ceremony at the Pleasance Courtyard, which this year will take place on Friday 28 August.

Mental health has been a prominent theme at the Edinburgh Fringe in recent years, and our award has recognised some of the most brave, honest and boundary-pushing work on the subject.

Our winners to date are: Mental by Kane Power (2017), Electrolyte by Wildcard (2018), All of Me by Caroline Horton (2019), Manic Street Creature by Maimuna Memon (2022), Choo Choo! by StammerMouth (2023),  Batsh!t by Leah Shelton (2024) and Beth Wants the D by Beth May (2025). Each year we also publish a shortlist of shows in consideration for the award.

The Mental Health Foundation set up its annual award in order to recognise, support and encourage new creative work that challenges stigma, asks difficult questions, and opens up conversations.

Andrew Eaton-Lewis, arts programme officer for the Mental Health Foundation, said:

We are immensely grateful to the Cornwell Charitable Trust for continuing to support this award, in tribute to, Tim Cornwell’s long relationship with the Edinburgh Fringe and his achievements in reducing the stigma around mental health.

If you want to be considered for the Mental Health Foundation Fringe Award, please send information about your show to Andrew at aeaton-lewis@mentalhealth.org.uk, no later than Friday 31 July, explaining your interest in the subject of mental health and why you think your show is eligible.