Cairngorms

Submit your shared story

Please read the submission guidelines before submitting your story below

Submission guidelines

  • Submissions are invited from anyone aged 10 and above who has spent time in the Cairngorms National Park.
  • Submissions are encouraged throughout the year. The final deadline for inclusion in the anthology is Friday 27th September.
  • Writing must be inspired by our relationship with the natural environment of the Park.
  • Prose pieces up to 1000 words; Poetry up to 40 lines.
  • All pieces must be the writer’s own work and not published in print or online prior to 2019.
  • The writer’s full name will appear with any publication. Copyright remains with the writers, who are free to republish the work elsewhere.
  • Writers may submit up to a maximum of five pieces across the year.
  • Submissions can be sent as an email attachment to sharedstoriescairngorms@gmail.com with SUBMISSION in the subject line, or by post to SHARED STORIES, Cairngorms National Park Authority, 14 The Square, Grantown-on-Spey, PH26 3HG
  • Each submission must be accompanied by a typed cover letter stating:
    • Full name and age (if under 18)
    • Postal address and phone number + email address if possible
    • The following statement: I confirm that this writing is my original work and by submission to the Shared Stories project I am granting permission for it to be published (tick all that apply)
      • On the Cairngorms National Park website
      • On displays in the Park
      • In the Shared Stories Anthology
  • Submissions should be typed on one side of the paper in a plain font with the sheets stapled at the top-left corner, including the cover letter. Prose pieces should be double-spaced and state a word-count.
  • Email submissions will receive an acknowledgement of receipt. If contributors wish acknowledgement of postal entries, please include a self-addressed stamped postcard stating the title of your submission.
  • The Park will contact writers whose work is to be published or displayed, but cannot enter into communication with others.
  • Guidelines for schools and activity centres hosting under-18s:
    • If you wish to use ‘Shared Stories: A Year in the Cairngorms’ as a writing focus in your school or centre, we ask you to select and submit only the best work for the anthology, with a maximum of 15 pieces per high school/centre and 5 per primary.