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VIDEO: North-east author heading to France after receiving prestigious literary prize

A north-east writer who has championed Doric, Aberdeen and Fraserburgh in his work has been announced as a recipient of one of Scotland’s most prestigious literary prizes.

Shane Strachan has followed in the footsteps of such luminaries as Liz Lochhead, Janice Galloway and James Robertson in being named a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellow.

The award, from the Scottish Book Trust, aims to provide burgeoning writers the time and space to develop their work in the solitude of the Hotel Chevillon International Arts Centre in Grez-sur-Loing, France.

Mr Strachan said he’d been “taken aback” by the award which he said had offered him a “confidence boost” as he prepares to write a first major study of the life of a man who shares his Fraserburgh roots.

Encouraged by his teachers at Fraserburgh Academy to take up art in 1962, farmer’s boy Bill Gibb went on to become a celebrated fashion designer, renowned for his evening gowns made from exotic and embroidered fabrics.

During a glittering career he worked with top industry professionals including the British model Twiggy, who once described him as her “knight in shining armour.”

Gibb died at the age of 44 and until now his story hasn’t been fully explored. Mr Strachan aims to change that during his time in France.

He said: “It’s something of a dream come true to have been offered a Robert Louis Stevenson Fellowship, especially at this pivotal time in my career when I needed this support to transition from writing short to long-form fiction.

“To have been granted time to work on a project that I am highly passionate about really is a gift and I can’t wait to head to Grez-sur-Loing and get writing.”

The 29-year-old holds a PhD in Creative Writing from Aberdeen University and said he is constantly inspired by the city and the north east.

The writer said: “I try to use Doric in my work and make it accessible and I love being inspired by everything in Aberdeen.

“I’ve often written on the region’s fishing community too. Being from Fraserburgh this has always been a great personal interest.”

Mr Strachan is one of four recipients of the 2018 fellowship.

The others were Edinburgh novelist and poet Jenni Fagan, Glasgow-based critic David Keenan and Canadian poet Theresa Munoz, who now lives in the capital.

Mr Strachan’s retreat in Grez-sur-Loing begins in November.

It was at the centre there that Robert Louis Stevenson met his future wife, Fanny Osbourne.