Do you have any budding young writers in your school or library group? Would they like to see their words lighting up the dark January nights through epic projections across Scotland’s capital? If yes, then Edinburgh’s Hogmanay wants to hear from them!

From Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Walter Scott, to Dame Muriel Spark and Kate Atkinson, many great writers have lived and written in Edinburgh. Ian Rankin’s Inspector Rebus, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, and J K Rowling’s Harry Potter are world-famous characters who were all created in the city.

In January, Edinburgh International Book Festival are teaming up with Edinburgh’s Hogmanay for Message from the Skies, a project which will see bestselling author Val McDermid’s latest story, New Year’s Resurrection, projected onto buildings around Edinburgh.

Short Story Competition

Edinburgh’s Hogmanay are currently running a competition open to young people aged 18 and under who live or attend school in an EH, FK or KY postcode. They want you to send your short stories, which can be about absolutely anything but should be inspired by Edinburgh, and should be between 200-1000 words.

There are three age categories – Primary, S1-S3, S4-S6 (or school leavers aged under 18). In January, one winning story from each age category will be projected onto buildings in Edinburgh for an hour a day for around a week.

For more details on the competition, visit the Edinburgh’s Hogmanay website.

The deadline for the competition is Wednesday 15 November.

Inspiration

Watch Val McDermid talk about why Edinburgh is such a great inspiration for stories, and hear Val’s top tips for writing one here:

Good luck!