Well-known names of leading Scottish authors and totally unknown, talented new writers are all to be found in this volume of the very best entries to Britain's biggest and most prestigious short story competition - The Scotsman and Orange Short Story Award, 2004. Entrants were given a single word - 'North' - as a trigger to set their creativity loose. They were asked to compose stories that explored the meaning of 'North' in whatever way they wanted. More than one thousand entries were received and the resulting collection is a clear indicator of the sheer wealth of talent emerging in Scotland today.