The creative literary talents of youngsters from throughout Scotland and Ireland will be rewarded tonight during an awards ceremony at the University of Aberdeen, as the winners of the WORD Festival online writing competition received their prizes.
The online writing competition for secondary school pupils across the whole of Scotland and Ireland received a tremendous response with more than 300 entrants. Of those, 60 were shortlisted to be judged by the University’s writer-in-residence Alan Spence.
The winners will receive their prizes tonight at a special awards ceremony at King’s College Conference Centre. Nine of the twelve award winners will be attending the ceremony tonight with their families.
The prizes will be presented by Bert Noble, Country Manager of BT Scotland, Alan Spence, Writer in Residence at the University of Aberdeen, and Rebecca Hardy, Editor of The Scotsman newspaper.The awards presentation will be followed by a reading by Alison Prince, who is the Scottish Arts Council Children’s Book Award winner.
The online competition was open to all secondary school age children in Scotland and Ireland, who were expected to write either a poem or a short story. All entries were made online to the WORD 2001 website address (www.abdn.ac.uk/word).
WORD 2001 is being held in Aberdeen this week from 16-20 May featuring writers from Scotland and Ireland with readings, lectures,films, talks, and events for children. It follows the success of the original Word festival, which was held in 1999
The students below will receive prizes tonight. The prizes will be provided by BT Scotland, which sponsored the online writing competition, and Ottakar’s bookshop.
POETRY S1-2
FIRST PRIZE
The sun's journey.
Eystein Thanisch, age 12
George Heriot’s School, Edinburgh
SECOND PRIZE
March days.
Hazel Ruth Streeter, age 13
Keith Grammar School, Keith Banffshire
POETRY S3-4
FIRST PRIZE
Trampolining in Australia
Giulia Caterina Galastro, age 15
The Mary Erskine School, Edinburgh
SECOND PRIZE
A virus of the heart
Josh Vaughan, age 15
Merchiston Castle School, Colinton Edinburgh
POETRY S5-6
FIRST PRIZE
E. Nesbit's children
Jenny Bryden, age 17
Dunblane High School, Dunblane Perthshire
POETRY S5-6
SECOND PRIZE
Ootside
Jonathan Stevens, age 17
Banff Academy , Banff
SHORT STORIES S1-2
FIRST PRIZE
Regular guy
Kieran Peppiatt, age 13
Banchory Academy, Banchory Aberdeenshire
SECOND PRIZE
Sam
Sarah Louise Cassidy, age 14
Banchory Academy, Banchory Aberdeenshire
SHORT STORIES S3-4
FIRST PRIZE
Not blue baby Jacob
Emma Louise Rawlinson, age 15
St Columba’s High School, Dunfermline Fife
SECOND PRIZE
No thinking allowed
David Tait, age 15
St Andrews Academy, Paisley
SHORT STORIES S5-6
FIRST PRIZE
Mrs Steel's corners.
Morven Elspeth Philp, age 16 – HERE WITH HER MOTHER
Oldmachar Academy, Bridge of Don Aberdeen
SECOND PRIZE
A fatal stabbing
Lisa Marie Bath, age 16
Kilduthie Farmhouse, Banchory
PHOTO OPPORTUNITY: The award winners will be available for photographs with Bert Noble, Country Manager for BT Scotland, Gavin Wallace of the Scottish Arts Council, Alison Prince, Scottish Arts Council Children’s Book Award winner, and Rebecca Hardy, Editor of The Scotsman.