CRIME author Ian Rankin has been named Scotland's favourite writer of all time in a new poll.
The creator of Inspector Rebus came top in a survey carried out to mark the final week for children to enter the National Young Writers' Award.
Robert Louis Stevenson was in second place followed by Arthur Conan Doyle. In fourth place was the Iain Banks while Robert Burns came fifth.
The research also found that Scotland was the most literary country in the UK, with 55% of people north of the border reading every day for pleasure.
This compares to 51% in England, 40% in Northern Ireland and 39% in Wales.
Lise McCaffery, curriculum development manager at Explore Learning in Scotland, said: "We are thrilled to discover that we are a nation of readers but it's important to encourage our children to realise the rewards of writing too."
The National Young Writers' Award is aimed at children aged five to 14 and challenges them to write a 500-word story on the theme "fairy tales and fables".
The winning author will be awarded a trip to Disneyland Paris for their family and £500 worth of books for their school.
Children can enter at www.explorelearning.co.uk/youngwriters. The closing date is Tuesday June 3.
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