Seven Edinburgh residents who penned stories about their most treasured possessions for a national writing competition have had their submissions chosen to be published in a book.
Bethany Anderson, Udita Banerjee, Nicole Brandon, Peggy Hughes, Gill Monaghan, Marianne Paget and Finola Scott beat off competition from over 300 other entries to win places in a special book entitled Treasures, and their stories will feature alongside entries from 40 other winners and celebrity contributors such as John and Carole E. Barrowman, Denise Mina and Mairi Hedderwick.
Commenting on her win with ‘Grandma’s Book of Poems’, Udita said:-“We are what we read. Being featured in the Treasures book and becoming a part of this wonderful reading and writing movement has made me feel happy, honoured, and humbled.”
The competition was held by Scottish Book Trust, the leading agency for the promotion of literature, reading and writing in Scotland, and encouraged members of the public to write, read and share stories about an object that is special to them. Contributions arrived in a variety of forms including poems, diary entries and stories, and these previously untold accounts of unexpected objects included pieces about a steamship, a VHS tape, a rucksack and a chip of concrete.
To celebrate the second year of Book Week Scotland (25 November – 1 December 2013) more than 150,000 free copies of Treasures will be gifted to people throughout the country. The books will be distributed in local bookshops, public libraries, National Trust and Historic Scotland properties, workplaces, ferry terminals and train stations. All the competition entries are also available to read at www.bookweekscotland.com.
Treasures also features original commissioned contributions from some of the best-loved names in Scottish arts and literature, among them exclusive stories from Richard Holloway and Mairi Hedderwick. A special contribution in Gaelic comes from Catriona Lexy Chaimbeul.
Philippa Cochrane, Head of Reader Development at Scottish Book Trust said:-“The winning stories from the Treasures campaign give a fascinating and heart-warming insight into the valued objects that have shaped people’s lives in Scotland, and we are delighted to be able to publish them so that they may be enjoyed by others and, most importantly, may never be forgotten.”
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
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