THREE talented students from Fife College have been awarded scholarships from one of the world’s leading crime writers, Ian Rankin.

Cardenden man ​Ian, famous for his popular fictional character Rebus, took time out from writing his latest book to meet with the three students, who are all studying HNC/D Journalism.

Debbie Miller, Vice Principal and Derek Birkenfield, Trustee of the Adam Smith Foundation, both welcomed Ian to the College’s St Brycedale Campus, in Kirkcaldy where Ian presented the students with their awards at a special celebration managed by the Adam Smith Foundation, the charitable trust of Fife College.

This year’s scholarship was open to all students studying HNC/D Practical Journalism, HND Creative Industries: Television, HND Creative Industries: Radio and NC Media Production. To take part, students had to submit a piece of creative writing and their work was read and judged by Ian Rankin himself.

As well as being awarded £600 each, the winning students; Katja Watson; Ross Gardiner and James Cowan, were also presented with a signed copy of Ian’s latest book, ‘The Beat Goes On’, a compilation of short stories which was published last year.

Prior to the presentation, the students joined Ian for afternoon tea where they chatted about their course work and related subjects. Ian also gave an insight into his writing process and where he gets ideas from for writing his next bestseller. The students then got a unique opportunity to take part in a question and answer session with Ian to find out what inspires him, which was filmed by journalism students.

Ian was delighted to once again visit the College and share his experiences with the students.

Said Ian, “The scholarship programme is a great initiative and provides many students with an extra bit of help and recognition while they study. It was great to meet the students and I really enjoyed reading their work. They had all written excellent short stories which I have promised I won’t steal!” Katja Watson (19) was delighted to meet Ian Rankin and said, “I was so happy to receive this scholarship – I have been a huge fan of Ian Rankin for many years and have read all of the Rebus series. This scholarship will enable me to buy a much needed new laptop – I intend to take a year out and then complete a journalism degree at University. Longer term I hope to move to Australia and become a travel or political journalist.” Ross Gardiner (18) was surprised to hear he was a winner and said, “I’ve always enjoyed writing and this course has enabled me to gain hands-on experience and study feature writing and shorthand. I am delighted to have won a scholarship and will use it to pay for my travel to College next year. Meeting Ian Rankin was a fantastic experience – it was great to get the opportunity to chat with him and ask questions.” James Cowan (19) is no stranger to winning the Ian Rankin scholarship as this is the second year the talented writer has picked up the award.

Said James, “I am very pleased and proud to have won this award for a second year and it was great to meet Ian again. I’m hoping to go to University to study journalism and so this award will come in extremely handy.” Debbie Miller, Vice Principal for Commercial Development, said, “We were delighted to welcome Ian Rankin to present this very prestigious scholarship award. Not only has Ian supported the award for the past 11 years, he also takes a great interest in the students’ work and gives up his time to review and judge their creative writing which is a very valuable experience for the students.

“Each year Ian spends his afternoon at College chatting to the students, answering their many questions and sharing his own experiences, which makes for a very memorable and inspirational day.” “Receiving a scholarship from such a well-known author as Ian Rankin means a great deal to the students and is a fantastic achievement which will help them secure future study, employment opportunities and provide some extra financial support which is always very welcome.”