Shetland Library has today revealed the winners of this year’s ‘Young Shetland Writer’ competition.
This year’s theme of ‘a secret’ inspired over 300 submissions from across the isles, with stories ranging from time-travel adventures to family secrets and reimagined Shetland folklore.
Judging was carried out by local writers and literary enthusiasts Jim Mainland, Mary Blance, and Audrey Edwards, who praised the creativity and range of entries.
In the 7–9 age group, the winning entry came from Malin Tallack of Lerwick with her entry ‘Secret Steal’
The winners in the 10–12 category were Leah Bruce from Mid Yell Junior High School with the piece ‘The Arctic’, and Cora Grant of Lerwick, who secured the dialect prize with ‘Esme An Da Smugglers’, having now won on four separate occasions.
For the 13–18 year olds, Winnie Paton from Voe claimed the prize for the third year in a row with ‘A secrets Cage’. The dialect award in this category was presented to Beenie-Ann Wood of Brae High School for ‘Da Northern Rock Cress’
A prize-giving evening will be held at Shetland Library on Friday 19 September at 6.30pm, where the winning writers will receive their awards and the entries will be read. All are welcome to attend.
Prizes were generously supported by the Educational Institute of Scotland, who contributed £50 for each category winner, and local dialect group Shetland ForWirds, who provided £50 for each dialect winner.
Chloe Tallack, Young People’s Librarian at Shetland Library said: “This year’s theme encouraged a huge variety of ideas and with so many strong entries, the judges had a tough task choosing winners. We’re looking forward to celebrating the young writers’ achievements at the awards night, and it’s wonderful to see continued support from teachers, schools, and families who help make the competition such a success.”
The winning stories will be shared on the Shetland Library website, published in the New Shetlander literary magazine, and broadcast on BBC Radio Shetland’s Book Programme later this year.