News and Events

At Scottish Book Trust we get lots of people telling us about different opportunities for writers in Scotland. Here's the current crop:

THE 2009 WINSTON CHURCHILL TRAVELLING FELLOWSHIPS - the deadline for applications is 14 October 2008.
 
The 2009 categories include:
 
Writers: Journalists, Authors, Biographers and Historians
 
The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust offers you the Opportunity to increase your knowledge and experience through overseas travel in order to benefit others within your community. If awarded a Fellowship, you will receive a grant that will cover all your relevant expenses. In 2008 the average grant was £5300, covering a stay of between 4-8 weeks (minimum of 4 weeks) but can be longer. The grant includes return travel, daily living, internal travel and appropriate insurance within the countries visited.

Applicants must be 18 years or over, and the Fellowship scheme does not cover Gap year projects, attendance on courses, academic studies, or student grants.
Further details at http://www.wcmt.org.uk/ 

BROWNSBANK WRITER IN RESIDENCE - Biggar Museums Trust is looking for a writer to fill a writing residency based on Brownsbank Cottage near Biggar in South Lanarkshire. One of the longest-running residencies in Scotland, the Brownsbank Fellowship has been in existence since 1993 and has hosted six previous incumbents. Funded by the Scottish Arts Council and South Lanarkshire Council, it offers the writer a period of financial security during which he or she can concentrate on his or her own writing and development in return for promoting and supporting creative writing in the diverse communities of South Lanarkshire.
Further details and application form are available here, or contact the Secretary of the Brownsbank Committee at brownsbank@googlemail.com. Applications must be received by 29 September 2008. 

UNDER YOUR COVERS from ONE MAGAZINE Saturday 27 September, Arta, Glasgow - Under Your Covers is the 1st Annual Merchant City Festival Writers Conference, bringing together some of the biggest names in literature and the arts alongside a plethora of emerging talents.

Featuring open forums, panel discussions and readings as well as children’s storytelling, Under Your Covers is free and is part of the Merchant City Festival which runs from 25 to 28 September.

Download the full programme here 

Arta, 62 Albion Street, Glasgow
Sat 27 September – 12.00 to 5.00pm
More details from www.iamone.co.uk and www.merchantcityfestival.com

THE WORD FACTORY - an experimental writers group, open to all who wish to explore creativity and words. The workshops will enable you to develop skills and gain experience in creative writing and spoken word. The group will produce work for publication and performance. Marc Sherland, chair of the Federation of Writers (Scotland) will facilitate the workshops. You will also have opportunity to engage with a range of artists and writers to develop a variety of skills and techniques.

WORD FACTORY opens 9 September 2008.

For further information and booking call Tramway box office 0845 330 3501. TRAMWAY, 25 Albert Drive, Glasgow G41 2PE www.tramway.org 

SUBMISSIONS ACCEPTED FOR MARKINGS 27 - Markings is a bi-annual Arts Magazine now its eleventh year which, since its inception, has gone from strength to strength and is now one of Scotland’s most popular literary magazines.

Markings gladly considers unsolicited submissions of poetry, fiction, artwork and criticism. The deadline for submissions to Markings 27 is September 19th 2008.

 
Please forward work to submissions@markings.org.uk in electronic format, preferably using Microsoft Word or saved as rich text or plain text in other word processors. Please keep formatting to a minimum and avoid, where possible, use of tabs, fully capitalised titles, multiple spaces, underscores as these will need to be taken out or replaced with the house style. This will best ensure that your wishes with regard to appearance are maintained in the type-setting process. Artwork is best sent in greyscale jpg format, minimum 200 dpi. 
 
Find out more about Markings at markings.org.uk

WORDS 2008 - an interactive exhibition exploring the magic of words, 9-13 September 2008, The Mitchell Library, North Street, Glasgow Tue-Thu 9am - 8pm; Fri & Sat 9am - 5pm

- Free Creative Writing Workshops
- Panel discussion on the craft of writing hosted by Keith Bruce of The Herald, featuring Tom Leonard, Anne Donovan and guests
- Short documentary film about writers at the Edwin Morgan Centre for Creative Writing
- Art installation by acclaimed public artist Nicola Atkinson
- Writers-in-residence, readings, whisky tasting

For more information visit: www.words2008.com 

TWO RAVENS PRESS continues to look for contributions to its new online literary magazine, Corvaceous. Check out the website for the kind of articles, interviews and new writing that would be appropriate, and send enquiries or contributions to sharon@tworavenspress.com. 

WEEGIE WEDNESDAY - Weegie Wednesday began in January 2007, and meets at Bar Bobar, Byres Road, Glasgow from 7.30pm on the below dates. Writers, booksellers, publishers, librarians, or anyone who wishes to network and talk books is welcome. 

Weds 16th July

Weds 20th Aug

Weds 17th Sept

Weds 15th Oct

The Clare Maclean Prize for Scottish Fiction
In association with Aye Write! The Bank of Scotland Book Festival
The Clare Maclean Prize for Scottish Fiction is awarded to the Scottish writer who, in the opinion of the judges, has written the best novel that year. The prize is open to any full-length novel, written in English or Scots by someone either born in Scotland or having worked in Scotland for the 12 months prior to the award ceremony. The book must first have been published in the 12 months of the full year before the award is made (for the 2009 award, this is books published in 2008). A prize of £3,000 was awarded in 2008. For 2009, this will be £5,000. Download info sheet and entry form here.

Enviromental Literary Award launch
A new book award has been launched to promote environmental writing and celebrate the life's work of Scottish writer Robin Jenkins. The £5,000 Robin Jenkins Literary Award is granted to a work of either fiction or non fiction, and is sponsored by Forestry Commission Scotland, and managed by Cowalfest, a Walking and Arts Festival in the Cowal Peninsula. Russell Bruce, Chair of Cowalfest, explained that "a key theme of submissions for the award must be Scotland's environment, trees and forestry, and comes at a time when the value of our environment is increasingly understood." Full details of the award are available here.