Online Writer in Residence

Scottish Book Trust is thrilled to welcome Keith Gray, one of the UK’s finest authors for young adults, as our first virtual writer-in-residence.

• Information about the virtual writer-in-residence project
• Register to get the new stories sent to your email inbox
• Videos: Creative Writing Masterclass
• Links to all the stories so far
• Exclusive alternative ending to Henry Tumour!
• Creative Writing Competition now open!
• Download poster to promote the creative writing competition

Keith says...

'So this is it, it all starts here. Not only Scottish Book Trust's first ever virtual writer in residence, but what we think is the world's first ever online writing residency of this kind.

'Over the next few months you'll be able to download exclusive video clips of me talking about the inspiration behind my work and ideas for creative writing. Towards the summer I'll be posting notes to help you write your own stories, and then you can enter our writing competition where the winning story will be published in a national newspaper.

'But if you're more of a reader than a writer, be sure to sign up for some exclusive stories. Every other month I'll be asking a top author to contribute a brand new story to this site and these stories can be sent straight to your inbox. You can be the first to read the best fiction by the best writers.

Keith's intro to the latest online story:

"Either you're a fan of Julie Bertagna, or you've not read her books yet. At the moment we're all waiting for her to hurry up with Aurora which will be the third part of her drowned world trilogy following on from Exodus and Zenith, both of which have won awards voted for by teenagers themselves. These books in part imagine a future where technology is both help and hindrance, where humans have amassed perhaps a little too much knowledge for their own good. And although it's handled with a light touch, this is also one of the themes in her exclusive story for us, A Teapot on Pluto.

It's been very interesting to see how the different writers so far have tackled the Virtual Writer in Residence theme of 'communication' in their stories. Julie has found yet another angle: communication through time. This story is certainly topical for us, here and now. Who knows how prescient it will seem in the decades to come..."

Read A Teapot on Pluto by Julie Bertagna here  

If you have thoughts to share on Julie's story, or anything else to do with the Virtual Writer in Residence project, get in touch at teen@scottishbooktrust.com.

Register to get all stories

Click here to register and get all new stories delivered directly to your email inbox.

All stories so far...

Creative Writing Competition

So, you've read some of the stories, watched Keith's podcasts ... have you thought about writing your own story? We are now accepting entries for our creative writing competition. If you're aged between 12 and 16 and fancy having a go, read the competition rules below and think about submitting some of your own writing. Go on, be brave! The winning story will be published in association with a national paper, and Keith will also visit the winning student's school.

Competition rules

• You must be aged between 12 and 16 to enter
• Submitted stories must be your own work and between 1,000 and 2,500 words in length
• Stories must be submitted in a Word document via email to: teen@scottishbooktrust.com
• All stories must be submitted by 12th December 2008
• All entries must include the pupil’s name, class teacher’s/librarian’s name and email address, as well as the name, address and telephone number of the school or library.

Terms and conditions
If you have been successful we will inform you by 31st January 2009. The winning entries will be reproduced (with acknowledgement) on the Scottish Book Trust website for the purposes of promoting the Writer in Residence project. We regret that we cannot return entries. The judges’ decision is final and we will not enter into any correspondence. There are no runners-up prizes.