News from the sector

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

THIS COLLECTION - CALL FOR ENTRIES We are looking for Edinburgh based poets and film artists to be a part of this collection a festival inspired by community, creativity and the celebration of the simplest observations of the daily going ons in our postcodes.

Find out more about this collection here

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON FELLOWSHIP 2009 The Scottish Arts Council and the National Library of Scotland support the Robert Louis Stevenson fellowship which offers writers the opportunity to spend up to two months in a self catering studio in France. Travel and accommodation are paid for plus a stipend of £1,200 per month which is awarded to successful writers for the duration of their stay.
 
Applicants must be published writers who are based in Scotland. They must be free to spend up to two months between 1 May and 31 October 2009 at Hôtel Chevillon International Arts Centre in Grez-sur-Loing. Successful applicants will be selected on the basis of the quality of their writing and the potential benefits the residency might offer them.
 
Applicants must submit:
• A completed application form
• Up to 3,000 words of original work (in progress or recently published)
• A statement explaining the potential benefits of the fellowship; this must be no longer than 2 sides of A4 but should provide the panel with sufficient information to help make a decision.
• A short outline of their writing career to date.
 
The closing date for applications is Monday 16 February 2009. More information and application details here
 

CCA LAUNCHING 2HB The Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow are launching a new quarterly publication named 2HB and are seeking contributions from writers and artists. The focus will be on short pieces of fiction and also creative critical pieces on the themes of eroticism, sci-fi, philosophical fiction, art as writing and detective fiction.

They are looking for brave, new writers who are able to step outside the ordinary and command their readers to take note.

For submissions info as well as details of deadlines and publication dates check out www.cca-glasgow.com

TWO RAVENS PRESS are looking for high quality writing which animates a connection between humanity and the natural world where it is not obviously dominated by the human presence. It might articulate a discovery; a new way of seeing; an emotional response; a meditation on a place or who we are as people in a wild world.

This is for a new non-fiction anthology focusing on the relationship between people and the wild places of the British Isles, to be published in Autumn 2009.

There are no restrictions on the nationality/residency of contributors to the anthology. Non-fiction prose only; no fiction or poetry will be considered. Upper word limit: 8000 words. Contributions will be accepted by email only, and should be sent as a Microsoft Word attachment to info@tworavenspress.com for forwarding to the editor, whose decision on contributions will be final. Submissions should include a short biographical paragraph. The deadline for submissions is March 31 2009. Royalties from the book will be split equally between all contributors.

THE FIELDING PROGRAMME This is a specialist residency programme for new and early career writers. Running in April each year, it offers the opportunity to develop professionally in the spectacular and inspiring surroundings of Cove Park on Scotland's west coast, and to receive one-to-one mentoring from Polly Clark. Applications for 2009 are now being sought.
One of the 2008 residents received the Scottish Arts Council's award for Best First Collection, another is included in a Bloodaxe anthology of new poets. Small groups, fantastic setting - join us in 2009 and make real progress with your work. www.fieldingprogramme.com
 

2009 MOMAYA SHORT STORY COMPETITION
Accepting Entries Now - Closing Date April 30th, 2009
The Competition: Momaya Press's Short Story Competition is open to writers of any nationality writing in English, and also offers the opportunity for winners to be published, in the Momaya Annual Review 2008.

The theme this year is "Alienation."
Every year the Momaya Annual Review has a different theme. While entries for the short story competition can be on any fictional topic, the review gets its cohesion from stories, poems and artwork focusing on a central theme, interspersed amongst the contest winners' stories. The 2009 Annual Review will feature fiction in a variety of categories from the winners of the Momaya Short Story Competition and winners of Momaya Awards, as well as a stunning collection of photographs, poems and short stories exploring "Alienation".

More info and entry submission here

WEEGIE WEDNESDAY
Next meets at 7.30pm on 

Weds 14th Jan

Weds 18th Feb

Weds 19th March

At: Bar Bobar, Byres Road from 7.30pm on the above dates.
Weegie Wednesday began in January 2007, inspired by Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature’s salon night (last Tuesday of every month at the Wash Bar, upstairs). Writers, booksellers, publishers, librarians, or anyone who wishes to network and talk books is welcome. Please pass the word.

2009 WILD WRITING COMPETITION - The John Muir Trust is accepting entries for the 2009 Wild Writing Competition at the Fort William Mountain Festival. The competition, which is free and open to all, encourages both aspiring and professional writers to pen stories about Scotland’s landscapes and wild places. First Prize is a place on a Writing and Place course at Moniack Mhor, Scotland’s creative writing centre.

The closing date is the 26th of January 2009 for entries (not exceeding 1200 words) in English or Gaelic. The winning article will be published in the John Muir Trust Journal.
 
To download an entry form and view further information go www.jmt.org or www.mountainfestival.co.uk.

WRITERS ROOMS SLIDESHOW
This slideshow on the BBC website coincides with a new exhibition of the photographer Eamonn McCabe's work, and showcases pictures of the writing environments of novelists, biographers and poets.
Watch the slideshow 

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.