Awarded annually the Book of the Year Award is given to either a book by a living author/s of Scottish descent or residing in Scotland or the book subject must be the work or life of a Scot or engage with a Scottish issue.  The First Book of the Year Award is presented to a previously unpublished author.

SCOTTISH BOOK OF THE YEAR
SHORTLIST

• Life After Life by Kate      Atkinson: Doubleday
• The Professor of Truth by James      Robertson: Hamish Hamilton/Penguin
• Empire Antarctica by Gavin      Francis: Chatto and Windus
• Mairi Dhall agus Sgeulachdan by      Donnchadh Macgilliosa: Clar
• Something Like Happy by John Burnside: Jonathan Cape
• Looking for Mrs Livingstone by Julie Davidson: Saint      Andrew Press
• Artful by Ali Smith: Penguin Press

SCOTTISH FIRST BOOK OF THE YEAR
SHORTLIST

• The Necessary Death of Lewis      Winter by Malcolm Mackay: Mantle
• As Far As I Can See by Eunice      Buchanan: Kettillonia
• Nothing is Heavy by Vicky      Jarrett: Linen Press
• Caleb’s List Kellan      Macinnes: Luath Press
• Air Cuan Dubh Drilseach by Tim      Armstrong: Clar

A short review of each book from the panel is attached to this email.

Winners of the Awards will be announced at a ceremony in the Mitchell Library, Glasgow on the 14th November from 4.30pm.

There will also be awards for the winners of our Research Book of the Year and History Book of the Year.

Ian Campbell, Convener of the Book of the Year and First Book Panel said:

Our panel had a real challenge to decide this shortlist from amongst another exceptional year of Scottish writing. We expect an interesting and passionate debate in our final discussions to decide the winners from amongst such exceptional works.

This year bears witness to the continuing strength and experimentation in writing in Scots. Eunice Buchanan in prose and poetry, Malcolm Mackay in a tough city Scots voice. And although it didn’t make the shortlist we were enormously impressed by the extraordinary Naw Much of A Talker where Donal McLaughlin takes Pedro Lenz's crackling 2010 novel in Swiss German and vaults into an excellent written Scots translation.  Lenz was inspired by a six-month residence in Scotland: McLaughlin's translation makes for a novel full of energy and wit.  Scots is obviously alive and well.

A new initiative has been established this year, which sees a student shadowing the First Book Award from the Shortlist.  Laura Jones, a postgraduate student at the Stirling Centre for International Publishing and Communication

Claire Squires, Professor of Publishing Studies at the University of Stirling and Literary Awards panel member, commented:

It’s exciting to be announcing the shortlists for the awards at the Wigtown Book Festival for the first time this year, as part of the panel discussion ‘In Search of Scotland's New Generation of Writers’. In keeping with the theme of the next generation, we’ve introduced a shadowing scheme this year. Laura Jones, one of our students, will be reading the shortlist for the First Book of the Year Award along with the panel. She’ll be blogging about her experience at http://publishthings.com/ as well as the Saltire Society website. This adds to the work undertaken by Stevie Marsden, who is working on a PhD focused on the Literary Awards in collaboration with the Society and the AHRC.

For more information and for images of the shortlisted books and author’s please contact saltire@saltiresociety.org.uk