Put pen to paper – deadline for Cairngorms anthology looming!

A project that aims to delve deeper into the relationship that people have with the natural environment through creative writing is reaching a high point with the deadline for submissions to an anthology of works fast approaching. ‘Shared Stories: A Year in the Cairngorms’ led by the Cairngorms National Park Writer in Residence, Merryn Glover, is a 12 month initiative encouraging people to put pen to paper to share and explore the ways in which people and nature thrive together in the Park.

A new anthology of Cairngorms inspired writing will be published as a result of the project with the deadline for submissions being Friday 27^th September. Anyone can enter – whether you have attended a workshop with Merryn or you simply enjoy writing in your own time. Once completed, the anthology will contain a work by Merryn as the Park’s Writer in Residence along with commissioned work from Linda Cracknell, Alec Finlay, Amanda Thomson and Samantha Walton and contributions from people from all walks of life including school children.

Organised and part financed by the Cairngorms National Park Authority (CNPA) with a funding award of £8,000 from Creative Scotland and £10,000 from the Woodland Trust, the Shared Stories project has proved very popular and the anthology will provide a legacy for the initiative.

Cairngorm National Park Writer in Residence Merryn Glover said: “It has been a privilege to lead workshops across the Park and to meet so many creative people, many who have felt encouraged to share their writing for the first time. It has inspired new directions in my own work and I look forward to bringing all these voices together in the anthology. We want to be spoilt for choice, so do send us your writing!”

For more information on how to submit your creative writing for the Shared Stories: A Year in the Cairngorms please visit the Shared CNPA website.