Author residencies for Scottish schools

Nine schools in Scotland will receive fully-funded author residencies this school year to help inspire a love of reading and writing.

The Live Literature School Residencies Programme, now in its third year, is funded by the Walter Scott Giving Group and delivered by Scottish Book Trust. Schools across the country were invited to apply to the programme which brings professional authors into the classroom to inspire and engage pupils. Each school taking part in the programme will receive 12 fully-funded residency sessions carried out by an author from Scottish Book Trust's author database. Each school's project will be showcased on Scottish Book Trust's website, alongside suggested learning resources and helpful tips to make the most of the residency sessions. The nine successful schools and their chosen authors are: Gigha Primary School, Argyll and Bute, working with John Fardell Loudoun Academy, East Ayrshire, working with Neil Slorance Forrester High School, Edinburgh, working with Victoria Williamson Kirkcaldy High School, Fife, working with Mark Fleming Annette Street Primary, Glasgow, working with Emily Dodd Smithycroft Secondary School, Glasgow, working with Chris McQueer All Saints Primary, Inverclyde, working with Juliette Forrest Cumbrae Primary, North Ayrshire, working with Gerry Cambridge Spittal Primary, South Lanarkshire, working with Linda Strachan The residencies will run across the 2018-19 school year. As well as an author residency, schools will receive a resources grant of 500. Julie Wilson, Head Teacher of Gigha Primary School, said: "What a great gift to have John Fardell come and work with us to craft a series of tales from our Isle of Stories. "We are so excited for this opportunity to learn from him and be inspired through his residency to create and illustrate our own picture books on the themes of nature, growth and learning for sustainability."