Singh, McDonald and Coles among Scottish writers to receive New Writers Award

Poet Medha Singh, fiction writer Hannah McDonald and children’s writer Henry Coles are among a group of Scottish writers to receive New Writers Awards from Scottish Book Trust.

This year’s programme includes 11 writers, including two writing in the Scots language and two in Gaelic. The full cohort is: young adult fiction writer Sonali Misra; children’s writer Henry Coles; poets Medha Singh, Robbie MacLeòid, Craig Aitchison and Eloise Birtwhistle; spoken word performer Oliver Robertson; and fiction writers Hannah McDonald, Alessandra Thom, Dòmhnall Eòghainn MacKinnon and Dervla Johanna.

Recipients of the prestigious year-long writer development programme will receive mentorship, a bursary, and opportunities to showcase work to publishing industry professionals. Previous award winners include Booker Prize-winner Graeme Macrae Burnet; bestselling author of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine (HarperCollins) Gail Honeyman; and acclaimed writers Kirstin Innes, Rachelle Atella and Sarah Smith. Applications for next year’s New Writers Awards will open at the end of May.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Callan Gordon Award, a place on the programme which is awarded in memory of Callan Gordon, a young Scottish writer, and funded by the Gordon family.

Marc Lambert, c.e.o. of Scottish Book Trust, said: “This year’s cohort of New Writers Awardees showcase some of the best new writing talent in Scotland. We’re excited to support them on the next stage of their writing journeys to help them develop and hone their skills further.”

Alan Bett, head of literature and publishing at Creative Scotland, added: “Scottish Book Trust’s New Writers Awards continues to launch fresh and inspiring voices into professional writing, supporting them every step of the way.

“We’re excited to see the future of Scottish literature emerge from this list and, eventually, onto bookshop shelves. The list of authors and poets to have come through New Writers is testament to the success of the programme, helping them develop their creative work and navigate the professional challenges of these early career stages.”

Alison Lang, director of Gaelic Books Council, said: “We are pleased to be working with Scottish Book Trust once again to offer this valuable opportunity to two writers to develop their work. The New Writers Award has given many writers a head start in their careers, and we hope it won’t be long before we see Robbie MacLeòid’s poetry and Dòmhnall Eòghainn MacKinnon’s short stories in print.”