So here he is with Episode Three of Jack MacRoary’s Guide to the Independence Referendum, in which our intrepid chronicler is beginning to learn about Scottish politics and wondering what all the fuss is about.
Enjoy!
It’s McSerial day again here on McStorytellers, folks, and time for the return of Jack MacRoary, DrumTumshie Academy’s budding political commentator.
So here he is with Episode Three of Jack MacRoary’s Guide to the Independence Referendum, in which our intrepid chronicler is beginning to learn about Scottish politics and wondering what all the fuss is about. Enjoy!
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It’s Wednesday, so it must be McSerial day.
That’s right. Every Wednesday from this week until further notice, we’ll bring you an episode or two of our latest feature, The McSerial, in which a host of writers specially invited by McStorytellers tell us their stories in serial form. Who better to kick things off than that master of episodic writing, our youngest McStoryteller, Jack MacRoary, otherwise known as the Bard of DrumTumshie? Yes, Jack’s back today, treating us to the first two episodes of Jack MacRoary’s Guide to the Independence Referendum. Don’t miss out on young Jack’s highly entertaining double-bill. And don’t forget Wednesday is McSerial day! Our trio of stories this afternoon all have a rather fishy taste to them.
First up, it’s a welcome return for Twelve Years And Counting In A Goldfish Bowl, Angus Shoor Caan’s sad account of an unhappy fish. Then there’s also a welcome return for The trout who dreamed of being a salmon, young Jack MacRoary’s allegorical tale of a fish that strayed from home. And last, but not least, there’s a brand new story from our favourite American McStoryteller, Michael C. Keith. It’s all about a man who is saved from drowning by... yes, you’ve got it... a fish. Appropriately enough, it’s called A Fish Story. Enjoy a wee swim with the fishes. And watch out for our St Andrew’s Day treat on Saturday. We’re delighted to list below the next McFestival Dozen, the 12 stories entered in our Being Scots McCompetition that will be featured at the Edinburgh eBook Festival in August and will be included in the subsequent McStorytellers anthology.
Home-Koming Night by Allan Watson The trout who dreamed of being a salmon by Jack MacRoary Born and Bred by Alasdair McPherson Greek As A Foreign Language by Andrew McCallum Crawford Scots Away by Angus Shoor Caan The Voracious Reader by Pat Black Snippits in Scots by Andrew Velzian Bring Your Befuddled Zxeardks by Garry Stanton Don Masson's Big Toe by Fiona Johnson The Unofficial Burryman by Brendan Gisby Mr Black by John McGroarty Jings, crivens, help ma Boab, it's independence! by Cally Phillips We invited all our McStorytellers to submit entries on the subject of Being Scots. While the approaches to this subject varied wildly, inevitably a couple of themes emerged from the submissions. Many entrants sought “to see oursels as ithers see us”, the “ithers” being defined as those who live in England (of course), the rest of the world and even another planet! Many also were at pains to highlight Scotland’s failings: our penchant for unhealthy foods, our lack of prowess on the international football stage, the religious bigotry that divides great swathes of our nation – to name but a few. But virtually all imbued their piece with humour – that wry, dry Scots sense of humour that helps to define us, that sets us apart from our neighbours near and far. To sum up, therefore. According to the submissions, the Scots are full of faults, which we’re happy to acknowledge, even to laugh at. And we don’t really care what others think. Like William Wallace and his army at the Battle of Stirling Bridge, we bare our arses to our adversaries. Or was that only in the movie? Either way, that image has provided a cracking idea for our next anthology’s book cover, which we’ve previewed above. Remember these dates. The Edinburgh eBook Festival will run from 12th August through to 25th August. Every morning from 11:00 am, McStorytellers will host the Festival’s Short Story slot, when we’ll be saying a bit more about the McCompetition, showcasing the selected stories and announcing the availability of the Being Scots anthology. Remember also that there will be much, much more going on every day at the Festival. So please don’t just tune in for the Short Story slot. Watch this space for further Festival announcements. Mind our Being Scots McCompetition (which you can read all about here: Scots Wha Hae)? Mind we said the closing date for submissions was the end of June? Aye, well, that means you now have only this month to get your submission to us. Here, by way of encouragement, are the cracking submissions we’ve received so far (in the order we received them): Home-Koming Night by Allan Watson When Frankie Loved Jeanie by John McGroarty The trout who dreamed of being a salmon by Jack MacRoary Born and Bred by Alasdair McPherson Greek As A Foreign Language by Andrew McCallum Crawford Scots Away by Angus Shoor Caan The Voracious Reader by Pat Black Snippits in Scots by Andrew Velzian One last mind. Mind we said that the best of the submissions will feature not only at the 2nd Edinburgh eBook Festival in August, but also in the next McStorytellers anthology? Well, by way of further encouragement, we’re delighted to announce that BOTH our earlier anthologies are FREE to download this weekend. Just click on the book covers to get yourself to the Amazon Kindle pages. Had enough encouragement? Now it’s time to hone those submissions!
It’s a big McStorytellers welcome today to our latest contributor, Tattybogle-born Jack MacRoary.
At only twelve years old, Jack is also our youngest contributor by far. Notwithstanding his age, he writes a Blog, has a page on Facebook, has already published two ebooks and more recently has produced his own App. And here he is with his very first published short story. It’s a delightful tale called The trout who dreamed of being a salmon. (Although not intended by Jack, the tale serves as a tremendous analogy for the debate over Scottish independence, so we’ve also entered it into our Being Scots McCompetition.) Enjoy Jack’s story. And click on the links to his Blog, his Facebook page, his ebooks and his App. This laddie is definitely one to watch! |
McBlog AuthorBrendan Gisby is McStoryteller-in-Residence. He's the author of four novels, three biographies and several short story collections. The McStorytellers
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