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New Writers Awards is 15
Let's celebrate 15 years of supporting emerging writers.
The New Writers Awards, the leading talent development programme in Scotland for emerging writers, is turning 15! Celebrate with us by reflecting on the journey so far.
How the New Writers Awards started
- 2008: Scottish Book Trust took over the running of the New Writers Awards. Previously run by Scottish Arts Council as the New Writers’ Bursary Fund, we were trusted with further developing the programme when Dr Gavin Wallace recognised that working closely with an experienced mentor can profoundly impact emerging writers and their craft.
- 2009: The first cohort of writers was awarded and we started developing our bespoke package of support.
- 2010: In partnership with Gaelic Books Council, the first cohort of Gaelic writers was awarded.
- 2013: To give awardees the time and space to write, a writing retreat was introduced. Our writers currently attend the wonderful Moniack Mhor. It’s a joy to bring each cohort to the beautiful centre – perfect for plenty of writing and thinking.
- 2014: We divided the awards into categories and introduced separate judging panels for each, allowing us to ensure applications are judged as expertly and fairly as possible.
- 2020: We introduced the Access Fund, a ring-fenced fund to support awardees as part of our work to remove barriers and make our awards as accessible as possible.
- 2023: We introduced two new categories to the awards, Spoken Word and Scots.
Winning a New Writers Award was transformational, not just in terms of the prize and the absolutely vital confidence boost, but the opportunities it opened up for me. It's such an important institution, such a brilliant gift that this country is able to give to writers at the start of their journey, and such a crucial investment in the future of Scottish literature.
The New Writers Awards today
Every year, we gather an expert panel of judges for each category. We’re privileged to have had esteemed judges such as Jackie Kay, Kathleen Jamie, Kiran Millwood-Hargrave, Zaffar Kunial, and many more.
We’re proud to run the Next Chapter Award and the Callan Gordon Award alongside the New Writers Awards. The Next Chapter Award supports an emerging writer over the age of 40. Previous awardees include Gail Honeyman, author of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and the winner of the 2017 Costa First Novel Award. The Callan Gordon Award celebrates the life of Callan Gordon, a young Scottish writer. Callan's family generously support this opportunity for young writers between the ages of 18 and 35. One award is given every two years to writers of short stories or poetry.
Winning a New Writers Award was a life-changing moment for me; it was a huge shock, and I still remember exactly where I was when I got the call. The award supported me, raised my profile, gave me invaluable mentoring, and challenged me to work even harder and be more ambitious. I'll be forever grateful to Scottish Book Trust.
Success stories from our talented awardees
New Writers Awardees have excelled across literature, publishing books with Bloomsbury, Canongate, Harper Collins, Fourth Estate, and many other leading UK and international publishers. Represented by agents such as Jenny Brown Associates, Portobello Literary and Underline Literary Agency, the writers are at the forefront of Scottish literature. Awardees have also been shortlisted and longlisted for the Booker Prize and have won the Manchester Fiction Prize and multiple awards at Scotland’s National Book Awards.
You can find out more about the brilliant range of writers we’ve supported over the years on our New Writers Alumni page.
Fancy a read? Check out the recent fiction, narrative non-fiction, children’s YA and poetry publications from awardees on our Bookshop.org.(this link will open in a new window)
Later in 2024, we’re looking forward to reading Malachy Tallack’s That Beautiful Atlantic Waltz and Lyndsey Croal’s Limelight, alongside lots of other fantastic titles from previous awardees.
What’s in a New Writers Award?
Awardees are offered a range of training sessions, covering topics such as Press & PR, Social Media, and Performance. It’s a fantastic opportunity to gain skills integral to building a writing career. The week-long writing retreat is a highlight of the award for many awardees. In idyllic surroundings, awardees have the time and space to focus on their craft, while also bonding as a cohort.
Another gem of the programme is mentorship. This dedicated time with an accomplished author helps them take their writing to the next level. Previous mentors have included Don Paterson, Janice Galloway, John Burnside, and Jen Hadfield, among many others. Our writers have found their insight and wisdom invaluable. We’re delighted to now work with previous awardees as mentors – Nadine Aisha Jassat, Kirstin Innes, and P. M. Freestone, to name a few!
It’s been affa rare tae be baith a panelist and a mentor for the New Writers Awards in Scots. As a panelist, it wis graan tae see hoo emergin scrievers are wirkin in Scots the day in sindry, excitin wyes. I feel affa fortunate tae hiv been Craig Aitchison’s mentor: his scrievins are ootstandin and I learnt jist as much fae him as he did fae me in terms o the potential o Scots tae tell spleet-new stories in fresh wyes, as weel as explorin the shared linguistic heritage athort oor different Scots dialects o Doric and Border Scots. Lang may the New Writers Awards gang forrit!
Nurturing a writing community with the New Writers Alumni
Over the years, the awards have brought together many brilliant writers and made some brilliant friends. Through the shared experience of the programme, New Writers Awardees create strong, long-lasting friendships, as well as important industry contacts. Following their award, writers re-connect through regular online coffee mornings and the annual New Writing Showcase, a highlight in the Scottish literary calendar. Many have also collaborated on exciting writing projects. For example, Alice Tarbuck and Claire Askew co-edited The Modern Craft.
It’s a joy to witness the writers go from strength to strength and support them across a number of our programmes. Many of our awardees go on to join the Author Directory, delivering Live Literature events all over the country. Meanwhile, through the Ignite Fellowship, our writing development programme for established authors, we’re also delighted to work with some awardees again, such as Michael Lee Richardson and Niall O’Gallagher.
Following their completion of the programme, awardees continue to be supported by Scottish Book Trust. For each writer’s debut title, we arrange a meeting to discuss their publication plans. Outside of this, whether sharing publication news online, catching up over a coffee or attending a book launch, we’re always keen to celebrate the writers.
Winning a New Writers Award was such a pivotal moment for me in my writing journey. It gave me a huge confidence boost and working with a mentor was a fantastic experience, helping me take my writing to a new level. Once you're a New Writer, you're part of an incredibly supportive and inclusive community. If you're considering applying for a New Writers Award then I urge you to go for it, as it might just change your life!
Over the last 15 years, the awards have evolved by responding to industry changes and awardees’ feedback. We’re excited to see how it continues to grow and develop – here's to another 15 years (and many more)!
Interested in taking your writing to the next level? Find out more about the New Writers Awards and this year's New Writers Awardees.