Two Edinburgh schools to have authors in residence

Two Edinburgh schools have been chosen to receive an author residency from Scottish Book Trust.

Janis Mackay will work with Craigentinny Primary School and Claire Askew will work with Craigroyston Community High School.

The Trust today announced that 10 schools will receive fully-funded author residencies this school year to inspire a lifelong love of reading and writing and support learning professionals with their practice.

The programme is funded by the Walter Scott Giving Committee and is managed by Scottish Book Trust.

The residencies will run through the 2017-18 school year and will finish by Easter 2018.

Walter Scott Giving Committee is the sole funder of the Live Literature School Residency Programme and this is the second year they have financed it, following last year’s successful pilot of 6 residencies.

Another eight schools across Scotland will take part in the programme and will receive sessions carried out by an author from Scottish Book Trust’s author database. This catalogue includes almost 700 professional writers, poets, playwrights, illustrators, performance poets and storytellers.

What happens in each school will be shown on Scottish Book Trust’s website, alongside suggested learning resources and helpful tips to make the most of the residency sessions.

Janis Mackay is a children’s author and storyteller and lives in her home town of Edinburgh, after five creative years by the sea in Caithness. Her novel,The Accidental Time Traveller, won the 2013 Scottish Children’s Book Award. Janis also works for the University of Edinburgh.

Claire Askew is a poet and writer living in Edinburgh. In 2012 she won the inaugural International Salt Prize for Poetry. Her work has been twice shortlisted for an Edwin Morgan Poetry Award, in 2014 and 2016, andThis changes thingswas shortlisted for the 2016 Saltire Society First Book of the Year Award.

Craigentinny Primary School said: “We are so excited to have been chosen to be part of this project. We can’t wait to work with our resident author and we look forward to the children producing and publishing some brilliant short stories.”

Janis Mackay said: “I am very much looking forward to working with Craigentinny primary school, especially as the school is round the corner from where I grew up, and because, though I have done many author sessions in schools, the contact and creativity can be so much richer when there are several sessions to engage with.”

Claire Askew said: “I can’t wait to start work with the brilliant pupils and staff at Craigroyston High School. I hope they’re also excited to get their teeth into some weird and wonderful reading, writing, game-playing, poem-making activities!”

Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, said: “Bringing authors into the classroom makes books and storytelling come alive for pupils, and inspires their own writing and creativity.

“These residencies are a wonderful opportunity for the school community to work closely with a talented author over a period of time and create activities that can have lasting impact for the pupils. We are looking forward to seeing the work they produce and hearing about the experiences they have during the residencies.”