The winners of this year’s Young Shetland Writer competition have been announced by Shetland Library.
The 2026 theme ‘The Map’ inspired 361 submissions from across the isles, with stories ranging from characters getting lost in computer games, to discovering clues on secret treasure maps, and with a few mythical trows and njuggles encountered along the way.
Judging was carried out by local writers and literary specialists Jim Mainland, Mary Blance and Audrey Edwards, who praised the range of entries, and their creativity and imagination.
For the second year in a row, the 7–9 age category was won by individual entrant Malin Tallack of Lerwick, with Selkie’s Song.
In the 10–12 category, Merryn Burgess, who entered from Whiteness Primary School and is now a pupil at Anderson High School, won with The Peculiar Pocket Watch. The dialect prize was awarded to Cora Grant of Lerwick for Da Map in da Bottle, marking her fifth win in the competition.
In the 13–18 category, Logan Everett of Sandness won with The Chronograph Atlas. The dialect award was awarded to Arla Peterson of Brae High School for her story Marta’s Key.
A prize-giving evening will be held at Shetland Library on Friday 11th September at 6.30pm. The event will be presented by local authors Jane Cockayne and Yvonne Tait. The winning writers will receive their awards before excerpts from the winning entries are read aloud. All are welcome to attend.
Prizes were generously supported by the Educational Institute of Scotland, which contributed £50 for each category winner, and dialect group Shetland ForWirds, which provided £50 for each dialect winner.
Chloe Tallack, Young People’s Librarian at Shetland Library, said:
“This year’s theme aligned itself with the map collections of the National Library of Scotland, which is celebrating its centenary this year. It’s wonderful to see the impact of these events, as well as the inspiration provided by local authors and the support provided through workshops by Shetland ForWirds, which is reflected in the work of our young writers.
“The judges had a considerable task on their hands, with the competition attracting the second-highest number of entries in its history. It is a clear sign of the enthusiasm young people have for creative writing and of the support they receive from teachers and families alike.”
The winning stories will be published on the Shetland Library website, featured in The New Shetlander literary magazine, and broadcast on a special BBC Shetland radio programme with Mary Blance later this year.