The first winner of the Great War Dundee Children’s Book Prize competition has been revealed.
John Fulton won the prize for his book The Wreck of the Argyll.
The competition was launched after Dundee Library and Information Service made a successful bid to the Scottish Library and Information Council for funding to support a children’s book prize competition to mark Dundee’s experience of the Great War.
Entries from published and unpublished authors were requested, writing for children aged 9 to 12.
School children from across the city then voted for their favourite alongside celebrity authors Allan Burnett and Theresa Breslin.
The accompanying Book Jacket Competition produced a winning entry from Qynn Herd, then a pupil at Hillside Primary School, whose original artwork was used by Cargo Publishing as the base for the highly effective final design.
John Fulton presented a framed picture of the two designs to Qynn before saying a few words about his role as the successful author in the process of ideas to print.
Judy Dobbie, head of library and information services at Leisure and Culture Dundee said: “The aim of the project was to engage the interest of children in Dundee in the Great War from a fictional perspective to complement the factual information which has been prioritised through the Curriculum for Excellence.
“It has ensured that children in Dundee are provided with the opportunity to reflect on the impact of the war on their home city in a format which will enliven their imagination.”
The winning author, John K Fulton, was born in 1970 in Scotland.
As the son of a lighthouse keeper he moved around Scotland for much of his childhood.
Many remote locations instilled a life-long love of books and the sea.
He started writing at primary school, and has written for pleasure ever since.
While at university in St Andrews and Dundee, he had short fiction accepted for publication with small press magazines. He now works as a technical writer, and lives in Leicester with his partner Sandra.
Helen Sedgwick, joint managing director of Cargo Publishing, said: “It’s been wonderful to see the quality of writing that the book prize has inspired. The Wreck of the Argyll stood out as such an exciting story we’re delighted to be publishing it as the winner.”
Copies of The Wreck of the Argyll are available for loan in all public libraries and 350 copies have been made available at primary and secondary schools across Dundee.
It is also available to purchase in bookshops and online in paperback and e-book formats.