Eiks an Ens 31

Sangschaw open for submissions!

Our annual writing competition, the Sangschaw, is open for submissions until the 31st of January! As ever, we will provide feedback for every entry regardless of whether or not you win an award. It’s unusual for competitions like us to provide feedback on entries, but we think it’s important to help writers develop. We have three prizes:

• The Robert McLellan Prize for Scots Prose: up to 3000 words of original Scots prose.
• The John MacPhail Law Prize for Translation: up to 3000 words of original translation into Scots from another language. Provide along with a copy of the original text.
• The Hugh MacDiarmaid Tassie for Poetry: up to 60 lines of original Scots poetry.

Writers new and old are all welcome, so don’t hold back! We look forward to having your entries!

You can enter for £5 for one category, £10 for two or £12 for all three, whether that’s all in the same category or spread across the three. You can submit either by email or by post.

Submitting by email

If you would like to submit by email, first pay by bank transfer to the following account. Remember, it’s £5 for one submission or £12 for three.

Account name

Scots Language Society

Account number

00153458

Sort code

83 47 00

Then, send your entries to failte@go-plus.net along with proof of payment. For example, you could send a picture of you bank statement, or a copy of the transaction reference.

Submitting by post

If you would rather submit by post, send your entries with cash or cheque, as well as your name and address on a separate sheet of paper, to the following address:

Remember it’s £5 per submission or £12 for three. Address any cheque to the Scots Language Society.

Upcoming album release: Leid

Our very own Wullie Hershaw will soon be releasing a new album of contemporary Scots songs titled Leid. It will be coming early in the new year, so stay tuned in!

To whet your appetite, you can listen to the title track on YouTube. You can also have a listen to the musical work of his group, the Bowhill Players on Bandcamp.

New audio guide at Linlithgow Palace

This winter, the good folks at Historic Environment Scotland have translated their audio guides for visitors into Scots for the first time. The aim is to promote the status of the Scots language as well as to give visitors the opportunity to hear the voices of the court in something approaching their own language.

You can read more about the new audio guides on the Historic Environment Scotland website.

As far as we know, this is the first such venture, not only by Historic Environment Scotland, but at any major tourist attraction. Can anybody think of anything similar? Answers on a postcard please!

Haven’t received Lallans 103 yet?

It has come to the attention of George, our membership secretary, that there has been an error with the posting of Lallans 103. Two members, both subscribers entitled to issue 103, failed to receive their copies.

If you haven’t yet received your copy of Lallans 103, which he posted out on Wednesday the 7th of November, please email George at georgetwatt@hotmail.com and make us aware of it. A copy of Lallans 103 will be posted out to you straight away!

New format for Eiks an Ens

Old friends will recall that Eiks an Ens has formerly been a literary magazine to accompany Lallans. We on the Committee felt that this neither gave Eiks the distinct identity which it deserved, nor took full advantage of the opportunity it afforded to hold our community together.

Therefore, this is the first issue of Eiks to take a new format, where we’ll be endeavouring to share current affairs in the world of Scots language and literature, especially where it relates directly to our membership.

So send us in your inside information! If you’ve spotted something you think we ought to share in the next Eiks, send it to lallans@hotmail.co.uk.