Internationally renowned authors launch new Borders initiative to inspire future literary greats

Acclaimed authors Sir Alexander McCall Smith, Julia Donaldson, Jackie Kay, Damian Barr and Alan Windram (a former Galashiels pupil) are supporting a new initiative by an award-winning national storytelling centre to inspire future literary greats (aged 7 to 15) from the Scottish Borders. The project will give some children and young people the chance to appear alongside globally renowned authors at one of Scotland’s leading book festivals, and win £250 worth of books for their school.

The Great Tapestry of Scotland’s 300 Words is a creative writing competition designed to continue the five-star visitor centre’s legacy for celebrating the people’s story of Scotland and supporting the Curriculum for Excellence by engaging children and young people in the creative process. The competition encourages children of all abilities, from across the Scottish Borders, to write their own imaginative fictional tale inspired by the intricate details within The Great Tapestry of Scotland (one of the world’s largest community artworks, described by visiting children as ‘ginormous’, ‘amazing’, ‘beautiful’, ‘epic’ and more).

Winners will be revealed at a special event at the Borders Book Festival in June, featuring alongside an exciting programme of established authors and illustrators. Their stories will also be displayed in The Great Tapestry of Scotland visitor centre in Galashiels, the Scottish Borders, and thanks to the Borders Railway Community Partnership, three lucky winners will receive tokens worth £250 to spend on books for their school.

Launching the call for competition entries, Centre Director Sandy Maxwell Forbes said: “With Scotland’s outstanding literary heritage at our roots, visually compelling storytelling at our heart and one of the world’s longest tapestries just bursting with inspiration in our centre, we are thrilled to launch our first ever 300 Words competition for children.

“Drawn from an idea by one of world’s best-loved authors, the Great Tapestry of Scotland is a truly mesmerising account of our nation’s history, heritage and culture. From the reactions of the thousands of children, young people and teachers we have already welcomed, we know they agree. With everything from great innovations and national icons to fictional characters and mythical creators, the Tapestry provides a fantastic creative muse for children and young people. We’re very excited to read the wonderful works of fiction that it inspires Scotland’s future literary stars to write and look forward to hosting a special event for to celebrate the winners at the brilliant Borders Book Festival.

“We would like to thank the festival and the Borders Railway Community Partnership for allowing us to offer such a fantastic prize.”

Sir Alexander McCall Smith, the visionary behind The Great Tapestry of Scotland, will lead a panel of judges to select the final 300 Words winners. Explaining the significance of the competition to The Great Tapestry of Scotland he said: “Alistair Moffat, one of Scotland’s finest historians and Andrew Crummy the outstanding artist behind The Great Tapestry of Scotland, worked with over 1000 stitchers to create this artistic treasure. In fact, it is now possible to say that this is one of the greatest community artworks of our time and that it is giving immense pleasure to people from all over Scotland and from many countries around the world. It is, quite simply, wonderful and the new 300 Words competition is a fantastic example of how it continues to extend its reach.

“Many writers have been stitched into history in The Great Tapestry – Liz Lochhead, Norman MacCaig, JK Rowling, Alasdair Gray, Edwin Morgan, Muriel Spark, Robert Louis Stevenson, Jim Kelman, Sorley Maclean, Hugh MacDiarmid, Robert Burns, George Mackay Brown, JM Barrie, Lewis Grassic Gibbon and more – and I would encourage all children and young people in the Borders to follow in their footsteps and take part in this exciting competition. As a judge I will be looking for imagination and creativity so do try your hand. Even if fame and fortune do not result, it will be tremendous fun!”

A number of acclaimed authors have joined Sir McCall Smith in encouraging entrants to The Great Tapestry of Scotland’s 300 Words competition:

• Author and playwright Julia Donaldson (best known for writing popular children’s stories such as The Gruffalo, The Stick Man, Zog, The Snail and the Whale and Room on the Broom) said: “It’s brilliant to see that The Great Tapestry of Scotland’s 300 Words competition is giving Scotland’s future literary stars a chance to shine. With its 160 panels and vast range of characters, objects and places, the tapestry is a great source of inspiration. You could base a story around a person – a Viking perhaps, or a sports player or musician, or even Peter Pan. Or maybe you’d rather choose one of the many animals represented in the stitchwork – a puffin or a hedgehog, say, or a teddy bear or a unicorn. Sometimes it’s fun to mix up some completely different characters or worlds. The choice is yours! “Everyone has their own way of writing a story so I don’t want to lay down the law, but one tip is that it can be a good idea to give a character a problem which gets worse before it gets better. 300 words isn’t that many but don’t worry if your story is too long at first, as you can always cut it down, keeping in just the best bits. Then you could read it out loud to friends, family or teachers and use their reactions to think about whether you want to make any final changes.”
• Jackie Kay, poet and author, whose poems feature among the Scottish National 5 Set Texts, added: “Many adult writers started writing when they were children – me included – and competitions like his one are a wonderful way to discover future talent.”
• Award-winning author of the One Button Benny series of picture books Alan Windram, a former pupil at The Burgh Primary School and Galashiels Academy, advised: “Write no more than 300 words based on any of the panels of The Great Tapestry of Scotland. You can pick anything and make up a fantastical adventure. It could be about vikings, castles, kings, queens, amazing sport or great inventions. Use your amazing imagination and submit your story before the third of May to be in with a chance of winning a very special prize.”
• Author and BBC broadcaster Damian Barr said: “Everybody has a story to tell - about the world they live in, or a world they imagine. Let your mind and words be free and enjoy writing a story that say something about the world as you see or imagine it.”

Damian wrote the Scottish Classic and Sunday Times Memoir of the Year, Maggie & Me, which has now been turned into a National Theatre of Scotland production, touring later this year. His story centres around his life as a boy in Lanarkshire, and includes mention of Ravenscraig, a steelworks which features in The Great Tapestry of Scotland, one of the world’s largest tapestries telling the people’s story of Scotland through over 160 panels, from millions of years BC to present day.

The Great Tapestry of Scotland's 300 Words competition is open to three age groups in the Scottish Borders: P3 to P5, P6 to S1 and S2 to S4. The Tapestry team has been working closely with Scottish Borders Council’s Inspire Learning team to ensure the competition reflects Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence and to make the Tapestry artwork accessible to all Border pupils through digital technology.

Welcoming this partnership, Councillor Julie Pirone, The Executive Member for Communities and Culture at Scottish Borders Council said: “It is fantastic to see such inspiring collaborative working from The Great Tapestry of Scotland, the Council, the Borders Book Festival, and the Borders Railway Community Partnership, making this engaging and imaginative competition accessible to all pupils from Primary 3 to S4. I am sure we will have many budding writers sitting behind desks in our schools all across the Scottish Borders.

“We’re incredibly lucky to have such an inspiring cultural hub on our doorstep telling the people’s story of Scotland, delivering jobs, making a huge contribution to our economy and helping to improving access to our home-grown culture for children and young people.”

Entries for the Tapestry’s 300 Words competition close on Friday 3 May 2024 and winners will be given a chance to appear alongside globally renowned authors at a Great Tapestry of Scotland sponsored event at the Borders Book Festival in June and win £250 worth of book tokens for their school thanks to the Borders Railway Community Partnership.

Paula Ogilvie, Borders Book Festival Director, said: “The festival aims to promote creative learning, so we are delighted to be featuring The Great Tapestry of Scotland Three Hundred words winners in our festival programme filled with imagination, magic and talent. This is a great way to help young audiences develop a love for reading for pleasure and have fun with words.”

Judith Cleghorn, Vice-Chair of the Borders Railway Community Partnership said: “The Borders Railway has been transformational in bringing people together and energising local communities. We're delighted to extend these positive impacts by supporting excellent local initiatives like the Great Tapestry of Scotland's 300 Words competition. None of this would be possible without the funding we receive from ScotRail, Cross Country Trains and TransPennine Express. We look forward to reading all the engaging and imaginative tales our local children and young people write - with a Tapestry panel dedicated to the Borders Railway, this could even include a story about a great adventure surrounded by the stunning hills and landscapes that can be seen from the train.”

The five-star Great Tapestry of Scotland visitor centre is currently open 09.30am to 5pm, Tuesday to Saturday. In addition to its two galleries, the centre is home to a café, Discovery Centre and shop, which sells a range of products including books, crafts and gifts.

For more information visit greattapestryofscotland.com

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