Neil Gunn Writing Competition (closing date 11 March!)

 

2010-2011 Neil Gunn writing competition

This biennial competition is organised by The Highland Council and The Neil Gunn Trust; the 2010-2011 competition, the eleventh, is now open and entries are invited. The lead judge is Scottish author Andrew Greig.

Theme for 2010-2011 : 'A Wrong Turning'

"Our river took a wrong turning somewhere! But we haven't forgotten the source."

Highland River, Neil M Gunn

Writers are invited to interpret this theme in any way they wish.  The piece of writing does not have to be set in Scotland; any international setting is welcome.

Sections

There are 4 separate sections of the competition.

• Adult prose (Narrative form)
• Adult poetry
• Secondary school (S3-6) poetry or prose
• Primary school (P5-7) poetry or prose

Each writer may submit only one entry per section. The adult sections are open to all writers worldwide. The schools competition is for Highland Council schools or schools abroad with direct links to Highland Council schools. School entrants must be in the named year group at the closing date.

Entry forms, rules and full information

The entry forms can be found at the link below, together with everything you need to know to enter this competition. Entry forms are also available from any Highland library.

Closing date and Prizegiving

The closing date for all sections of the competition is Friday 11 March 2011.  Winners will be notified as soon as possible and the award ceremony will be held in Inverness on 14 June 2011.

Entry fee

The entry fee for adults is £5 per entry; entry is free for school pupils.

Previous prize winning entries

The winning entries from the 2009 competition can be viewed (and in some cases heard being read by the authors) by visiting http://www.ambaile.org.uk/ and entering 'Neil Gunn competition' in the search box.

Contact

If you are a Dingwall Academy student, and you are interested in competing, contact your English teacher.

For further information please contact Charlotte MacArthur, Area Libraries Officer, Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch Strathspey and Lochaber. Email charlotte.macarthur@highland.gov.uk or phone 01463 663828.

Link to the competition