The Daily: October 2

Jorie Graham becomes first American woman to win Forward Prize
Jorie Graham has become the first woman since Kathleen Jamie in 2004 and first American woman to win the Forward Prize for poetry. She won the £10,000 prize for her collection PLACE which was described by judges as, "startling, powerful and never predictable". The chair of the judges, Leonie Rushforth, said, "It is a challenging collection of unusual force and originality, forging connections between inner experience and a world in crisis." The prize has previously been won by Carol Ann Duffy and Ted Hughes. In 1996 Jorie won the Pulitzer Prize for The Dream of the Unified Field and her poems have been translated into many languages including Albanian, Chinese and Polish. PLACE is her twelfth collection.

Public schools to boycott universities favouring state school students
In a move reminiscent of the Bristol boycott a nine years ago, leading public school heads have called for a boycott of universities who favour state school students. Chris Ramsey, the head of The King's School in Chester, said schools should consider advising their pupils against applying for universities who actively discriminate against privately educated pupils. The call comes after more than half of the elite Russell Group universities were setting targets to boost the number of pupils admitted from state schools. The HMC has lobbied Professor Les Ebdon, the head of fair access, to get rid of targets based on school types saying they are "inherently wrong".

Channel 4 goes against BBC for Rio Paralympic rights
Channel 4's chief executive is preparing to go against the BBC in a bid to win the rights to the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. Not only that but he has expressed hope that they will retain Clare Balding, who also presented for the BBC, as a key anchor throughout the Games. He said, "I am very positive about re-assembling the team. There was a lot of good chemistry." The bid is backed up by Balding being the face of Channel 4 racing, but with the Rio Games four years away, nothing is certain. The coverage of the Paralympics attracted record breaking viewing figures and whilst the Rio Games are unlikely to provide the home boost of last summer, Channel 4 is confident household names such as Ellie Simmonds will be a big draw in 2016.

Adele confirmed as the voice behind the Skyfall theme
After nearly outing her secret on Jonathon Ross last year, it has now been confirmed that Adele will provide the theme for upcoming Bond sequel Skyfall. Using a 77-piece orchestra, arrangements from a pair whose credits include Wall-E, The Iron Lady and The Help and the man behind Adele's hit Rolling In The Deep, the hope is it will become a hit, unlike previous recent themes. The song will be premiered on Friday, the date that marks the 50th anniversary of the release of Dr N., the first Bond film. Adele has said, "I was a little hesitant at first ...There's a lot of instant spotlight and pressure when it comes to a Bond song. I'll be back combing my hair when I'm 60 telling people I was a Bond girl back in the day I'm sure." The film is due for release on the 26th October.

Duchess of Cornwall offers home to second abandoned dog
The Duchess of Cornwall has adopted a second dog from Battersea Dogs Home making Bluebell the second dog she has rescued. The now nine week old Jack Russell was found abandoned in a public park starving, shivering and with a skin condition. Now much healthier thanks to Battersea, Bluebell found her luck turned around when Camilla chose her to add to her family. Having previously adopted another Jack Russell (Beth) from Battersea, Camilla was contacted when Bluebell was brought in. Claire Horton, the chief executive of the home said, "Bluebell will be an excellent companion for Beth and we're confident she will bring a lot of pleasure to her new family."