Four Winners have been selected for the ‘Letter to Mackintosh’ Creative Writing Project.

Rachel Wade, Overall Winner (left)

Kirsten MacQuarrie, Top Entry from Adults (20+) (right)

With over 40 international entries, a panel of volunteer Mackintosh experts and enthusiasts has the difficult task of judging the entries. ‘Letters to Mackintosh’ was a Creative Writing competition launched by the Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society during the Covid-19 lockdown to allow people an opportunity to write a letter to Mackintosh as if he was still alive today. The competition saw over 40 people from across the world between the ages of 8 and 84 submit an entry in celebration of 152nd anniversary of Mackintosh’s birth. It provided a chance for people to go back to using a traditional method of communication during a time where much of the focus was on reconnecting digitally and the chance to win some Mackintosh goodies.

The full list of winners are as follows:

Top Overall Entry
Rachel Wade from York, with ‘The Red Kite‘

“A particularly poignant letter which rings true to the era and captures the  working relationship between Charles and Margaret beautifully. Thought provoking in that we consider what would have been unveiled had Margaret’s letters survived.”

Best Entry from Adults (aged 20+)
Kirsten MacQuarrie from Glasgow with ‘Dear Tosh’

“A great written perception of the beauty and inspiration found in Glasgow streets creating hope during a difficult time for the world.”

Best Entry from Teens (aged 12 – 20)
Isabel Burns from Kent (aged 17) with ‘Dear Mr Mackintosh‘

“Eloquently written and perfectly encapsulates how Mackintosh is now perceived in this day and age.”

Best Entry from under 12’s
Leo Weekes from Hampshire (aged 8) with ‘Letter to Mr Mackintosh and Mackintosh Rose Drawing’

“Thoughtfully asks all the right questions from one budding designer to another. We particularly liked the accompanying rose drawing.”

The full list of the top 10 shortlisted entries are as follows:

Julio Vives Chillida from Barcelona with ‘Imaginary Letter From Gustav Klimt to Charles Rennie Mackintosh’
Tommy Clarke from Glasgow with  ‘The Visit from the Rose Lady’
Clinton R. Siegle from Bolivia with ‘Letter to Mackintosh’
Sylvia Telfer from South Lanarkshire with Letter/Poem to Charles Rennie Mackintosh
Sarah Mills from Wiltshire with ‘CRM Letter and The Pond Design’
Kay Ritchie from Glasgow with ‘Letter from the Hill House’
Kathleen Smith from Stornoway with ‘To An Artist with Illustration’
Charlotte Mitchell from Paris with ‘Letter from Rosa’
Rumaanah Yasin from Wolverhampton with ‘Letter to Mackintosh and Drawing’
Issaac Hayden from Angus with  ‘Dear Mr Mackie from Beckie’

The CRM Society is grateful to Mackintosh at the Willow and House for an Art Lover for their generous contributions to prizes.