Orkney author receives New Writers Award

Samantha Clark, from Birsay, has won a Scottish Book Trust’s 2018 New Writers Award.

The New Writers Awards provide a selection of talented writers who have not yet published a full length book or collection with financial support, to enable them to concentrate on developing their work, as well as professional guidance to help them move towards publication. Today, Wednesday, Scottish Book Trust has announced the 10 new awardees for this prestigious prize out of over 450 entrants, which is supported by Creative Scotland.

Samantha writes narrative nonfiction and recently completed a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of St Andrews, for which she was awarded the Samuel Rutherford Thesis Prize. She has published in Terrain.Org, Antennae, EcoArt Scotland and Dark Mountain, as well as a pamphlet ‘Dark Matter’, the result of a residency at Timespan, Helmsdale in 2015.

For several years Samantha taught at Edinburgh College of Art, and then was Reader in Art at the University of the West of Scotland before moving to Orkney in 2016. She’s delighted to receive the award, which supplies grants of £2,000 cash to each of the 10 winners.

“The encouragement, sense of community and practical support of a New Writers Award could not have come at a better time for me,” she said.

“I intend to make the most of this opportunity!”

As well as financial assistance, award winners will also receive support tailored to their needs, such as mentoring from writers and industry professionals, training in public relations, social media and performance, and the opportunity to showcase their work to publishers and agents. They will also be treated to a week-long writing retreat at Moniack Mhor, which provides time, space and the freedom to create new work in idyllic surroundings.