Gaelic Literature Awards open for entries

The Gaelic Books Council’s annual awards are open to Scottish Gaelic writers and publishers.

Prizes of £750 to the author and £750 to the publisher will be awarded for books published between May 1, 2024 and April 30, 2025.

Categories include: 

• Poetry – The Derick Thomson Prize 

• Fiction – The Highland Society of London Prize 

• Non-fiction – The Donald Meek Award 

• Children/young people 

In addition to published books, there is also an opportunity for writers to submit unpublished manuscripts for children and for adults, with prizes of £500-£1,000 for the winners. As part of the prize, the winner of the best manuscript for children will have the opportunity to develop their book  with Gaelic publisher Acair.  

Alison Lang, Director of the Gaelic Books Council, said: “We recently heard the very welcome news that the Gaelic Books Council will receive funding from Creative Scotland over the next three years.

"Together with the money already promised to us by Bòrd na Gàidhlig, this gives us the opportunity to implement our plans to support Gaelic writers and publishers, building on the legacy of all those who have striven for years to develop Gaelic literature.

"In this context, it is a pleasure and a privilege to be involved in a competition that recognises the talent and hard work of those who create the best Gaelic books, and we look forward to celebrating with the winners at the awards ceremony in September.” 

Alan Bett, Head of Literature and Publishing at Creative Scotland, said: “We are delighted to see that The Gaelic Literature Awards continue to support creative writing in the language. The awards promote authors across different literary strands, recognising the heritage and strength of Gaelic poetry while also platforming the creative forms of fiction and non-fiction.

"It is  extremely important to focus on works for children, when considering the increasing need to support  younger readers and ensure high quality books are available across age brackets. Also, that the awards aim to develop new voices in a way that means they will hopefully soon have works on  bookshelves and in readers’ hands.” 

The deadline for submissions is May 12, 2025 and the competition terms and conditions can be found here. 

The winners will be announced at a ceremony at Cottiers Theatre, Glasgow on September 16.