Meet Scottish Book Trust’s Gaelic New Writer Awardee 2022

Posted on 25 January 2022 in Latest News

Shelagh Campbell has been selected as Scottish Book Trust’s Gaelic New Writer Awardee for 2022. She is one of 10 writers selected for the New Writers Awards, which provide a selection of talented writers who have not yet published a full-length book or collection with professional guidance to help them move towards publication, as well as financial support. Funded by Creative Scotland and run by Scottish Book Trust the awards have supported over 140 creative individuals since 2009.

Each of the 10 recipients will receive a £2,000 cash award and support tailored to their needs including mentoring from writers and industry professionals, training opportunities, and the platform to showcase their work to publishers and agents.

About Shelagh

Shelagh is from Glasgow and writes fiction for adults and children in Gaelic. She started learning Gaelic in 2005 and began writing in the language a couple of years later, once she was able to string two sentences together.

In 2020 she won a Gaelic Literature Award for Best Unpublished Manuscript for Children and her work has appeared in Northwords Now magazine. She runs monthly Gaelic reading and creative writing sessions through Open Book.

She is currently working on a crime novel set in St Andrews and is looking forward to developing her writing over the coming year.

Shelagh says

‘I am so grateful to have received this award. It can be very difficult to know how to get started as a new writer and the development opportunities included in this year-long programme are incredibly exciting.’