National Galleries for Scotland

I heard a few days ago that I've been made runner up in the published section of the National Galleries for Scotland Inspired? Get Writing!Creative Writing Competition.

This is the fourth year of the competition which is a three-way partnership between National Galleries of Scotland, the English Speaking Union and the Scottish Poetry Library.

Last year I got a special merit in the unpublished writers section.
But with Heart Notes being published last year, as well as having a few things accepted elsewhere, I had to step up to the published part of the competition. So I'm really amazed to have been awarded a runners up prize, as well as a further special merit award for another piece, at the first time of trying in this category. I submitted four pieces and got prizes for two, which can't be bad.

I think it means I'll have three pieces in the very beautiful biennial publication that will come out the September and will include all the art work and the winning pieces from the last two years - including pieces by the talented Alan Gay and Rob MacKenzie.

The two pictures I chose to write about were Alison Watt's wonderful Sabine, which is my runners up piece, and a tiny jewel of a landscape by the 17th century artist Hendrick Avercamp, called A Winter Landscape.

The readings and presentation are in May and I think my prize is a book of tickets for two for all of the up and coming exhibitions in the next year.