Scottish Book Trust receives £95,000 to deliver national Young Writers Programme
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Scottish Book Trust recruiting a full-time
Young Writers Co-ordinator
EDINBURGH-based Scottish Book Trust been awarded £95,000 from Creative Scotland to deliver a national Young Writers Programme as part of Time To Shine, Scotland’s National Youth Arts Strategy.
Scottish Book Trust will deliver a new national programme to increase opportunities for young writers across Scotland.
The Young Writers Programme will be delivered in partnership with Youth Arts Hubs and literature organisations across Scotland.
The programme will include a conference, development of writers groups across Scotland, and an online platform to showcase work by young writers.
Jenny Niven, portfolio manager for Literature, said: “The creation of a national programme for young writers is something that will be hugely welcomed by the literature sector in Scotland.
“While there are pockets of activity for young people, this is the first programme running nationwide which will offer the opportunity for young people both to explore and develop their individual talent, but crucially to be better connected to others across the country with similar interests.
“The enjoyment of writing and reading is something adults enjoy collectively all the time, through reading or writing groups, attending book festivals, readings or events, or joining discussions online and its terrific to see this begin to be developed more specifically for younger writers and readers.
“The combination of mentoring, writing groups, the writers conference and the online platform is a a real step forward in provision for young people interested in writing and literature.”
Caitrin Armstrong, head of Writer Development at Scottish Book Trust, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded Time to Shine funding to support young writing talent.
“Scottish literature organisations are doing some brilliant work with young people, but there is currently no clear pathway for young writers, and not enough opportunity for them to showcase their work.
“The Young Writers programme will support young people to co-develop and co-produce their own support, allowing them to shape the future of writing in Scotland.”
This news comes at the same time as Creative Scotland has awarded Targeted Funding to Voice of My Own in Selkirk (£99,712) and An Lanntair in the Western Isles (£89,000).
The funding aims to create enhanced access opportunities for Scotland’s young people to take part in creative activities.
Find out more about the vision and key recommendations set out in Scotland’s national youth arts strategy here: http://ow.ly/MNvcc
Colin Bradie, youth arts programme manager, Creative Scotland, said: “In support of the recently established nine Youth Arts Hubs, this new funding is enabling organisations to explore and develop further ways in which the breadth and depth of youth arts engagement across Scotland can be extended.
“The Young Writers Programme will nurture emerging young Scottish writing talent, while Arts in the Frame and Uncharted will create opportunities to creatively address rural access issues in the arts in the Borders and the Western Isles.
“VOMO and An Lanntair will act as regional focal points for youth arts to develop more sustained access for young people through removing social and geographic barriers to participation.
“These ambitious projects, designed to address gaps in provision, will be created by young people, for young people.
“They will also create valuable opportunities for young people to develop new skills and gain experiences which will benefit their futures in many ways.”
Scottish Book Trust are now recruiting a full-time Young Writers co-ordinator to develop and deliver the programme.
The co-ordinator will liaise with the young participants and partners, and will monitor work published online. The post will be supported by Scottish Book Trust’s Writer Development Team and Marketing Team and will have access to the wider expertise and support of the staff.
For further details please visit: http://scottishbooktrust.com/vacancies
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Notes to editors:
About Time to Shine
Published on 8 November 2013, Scotland’s first National Youth Arts Strategy, Time to Shine – which is centred around the three key themes of creating and sustaining engagement; nurturing potential and talent; and developing infrastructure and support – sets out a vision and key recommendations to enable Scotland’s children and young people to flourish and achieve, in and through the arts and creativity.
For further information please visit: http://ow.ly/MDBx2.
Follow the latest from Time To Shine @TTSYoutharts.
About Creative Scotland
Creative Scotland is the public body that supports the arts, screen and creative industries across all parts of Scotland on behalf of everyone who lives, works or visits here.
We enable people and organisations to work in and experience the arts, screen and creative industries in Scotland by helping others to develop great ideas and bring them to life.
We distribute funding provided by the Scottish Government and the National Lottery.
For further information, please visit www.creativescotland.com.
Follow us @creativescots and www.facebook.com/CreativeScotland
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E: sophie.bambrough@creativescotland.com
T: +44 (0) 131 523 0015
M: +44 (0) 774 760 6146
Switch Board: +44 (0) 330 333 2000
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