A GLASGOW-based author says he is “chuffed tae the gunnies” to win a major book prize.

Kris Haddow, who writes plays, poems and prose in Scots, is one of three Ignite Fellows, a prestigious award which supports established writers working on a significant project.

Glasgow Times: Kris HaddowKris Haddow (Image: Bob McDevitt)

Run by Scottish Book Trust, the national charity transforming lives through reading and writing, Ignite Fellows receive a £2000 bursary and creative support. Alycia Pirmohamed, based in Edinburgh, and Gaelic writer Calum L MacLeòid, based in the Highlands, are also winners this year.

Kris, a graduate of University of Glasgow’s MLitt Creative Writing programme, is currently writing his first novel, When the Curlew Cries No More, which won the Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival’s Pitch Perfect event in 2021. 

Kris said: ‘I feel truly honoured to have been awarded an Ignite Fellowship, and can only describe myself as 'chuffed tae the gunnies' when I received the call from Scottish Book Trust. Their support will be invaluable as I endeavour to complete and edit my novel set in rural south west Scotland, which entwines local language and landscape to bring the Scots dialect, people, and place to life.’

Marc Lambert, CEO of Scottish Book Trust, said: “We’re thrilled to support these writers on their next chapters, and look forward to seeing how their projects progress.”