Memorial short story competition winners receive their awards at John O’Groats
Winners in the inaugural Bill Mowat Short Story Competition were presented with their awards at the weekend.
Writers were asked to consider the theme of lighthouses in conjunction with the Duncansby lighthouse centenary celebrations.
The overall winner was Susan Andrew, for her story entitled Ray, while Calum Falconer was highly commended for his entry, Light and Dark. The under-16 winner was Maree Ford for The Lighthouse Keeper.
The judge was local writer Gail Anthea Brown.
The competition in memory of Bill – a well-known journalist, historian and councillor from John O’Groats who died last year – was set up by John O’Groats Development Trust and the John O’Groats Book Festival.
The awards were presented on Sunday at the Seaview Hotel in John O’Groats.
The event also saw the launch of the 2025 short story competition, on the theme of the Pentland Firth.
Bill passed away in August 2023, aged 80. He represented north-east Caithness on Highland Regional Council for 16 years. He was chairman of Gills Harbour Ltd and a member of Dunnet and Canisbay Community Council.
Bill worked as an Inverness-based reporter for the Daily Record, having started out in journalism as Thurso-based editor of the Caithness Courier.