2022 has been officially designated as Scotland’s Year of Stories, with events all over the country celebrating the treasured tales we tell each other.

The North Lanarkshire Libraries poetry competition invites locals to submit their poems on the theme of ‘Stories’ for the chance of inclusion in a special e-book being published for National Poetry Day.

This collection, which will be released on 6th October, will celebrate the power and diversity of local history, and capture for future generations a taste of North Lanarkshire’s storytelling culture.

The competition is open to writers of all ages, and the winning entries will become part of a one-off e-book published by North Lanarkshire Libraries, which will be made available to readers alongside the vast range of other top titles available digitally via the North Lanarkshire Libraries online borrowing platform, Borrowbox.

For those looking for some inspiration before putting pen to paper, North Lanarkshire Libraries will also be running a series of online creative writing workshops, designed to kickstart both new poets and experienced writers as they head off on their creative journey.

Poems should be no longer than 500 words and should be submitted either as a Word Document via email to libraries@northlan.gov.uk or online form.

Entries are invited in English, Scots or Gaelic.