Young writing talent celebrated with top children’s author

Nick Sharratt talks about his stories and illustrations at Shetland Library. Photo: Adam Guest.

Eloquent and enthralling storytelling was enjoyed at Shetland Library on Friday night for the Young Shetland Writer awards.

Special guest, acclaimed children’s writer and illustrator Nick Sharratt, opened the evening with an engaging talk on his interest in writing and passion for picking up a pen.

Picking up on this year’s theme of “journey” Sharratt rattled off illustrations of his famous characters including the hugely popular Tracy Beaker.

This year’s competition saw 245 people submit entries, and the five winning pieces were broad-ranging.

Ellie Leslie, nine, had penned an imaginative tale inspired by the Vikings and the loch at Girlsta.

Meanwhie Sophie Johnson 10, shared a powerful and hard-hitting account of a Syrian refugee, and Kirsten Keay, 16, an emotional short-story about her grandfather and the journey of dementia.

Shetland dialect was also celebrated with entries from Teagan Johnson, 11, focusing on lambing in Baltasound, and 15-year-old Hannah-Lisa Laurenson’s perilous tale of collecting eggs from the cliffs.

It is Sharratt’s first visit to Shetland and he was very impressed with the talented young writers.

“The writing was a delight to listen to. It really was,” he said.

“I was really impressed. There’s a lot of talented youngsters here and it’s fantastic that they get the encouragement with this type of activity and competition.”

• More in Friday’s Shetland Times