Book Awards 2009 category winners announced

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards 2009, in partnership with the Scottish Arts Council

Category winners confirmed for Scotland’s richest book awards

The four winning authors of the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards were announced today (Wednesday 8 April).  Top literary names James Kelman, Janice Galloway and Tom Pow are joined by Andrea McNicoll, winner of the ‘First Book’ category. One of the winning titles will go on to be named Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book of the Year, an accolade which will net the author a total prize of £30,000.

The final Book of the Year will be announced, and all the awards presented, at an awards ceremony hosted by writer and comedian Rory Bremner at the Borders Book Festival on Friday 19 June, the second time the Festival has hosted the awards.

Commenting on hosting the awards Rory Bremner said:

'I love book festivals, and the Borders event has the best setting of all. The Awards are a celebration of the best writing around, and always leave me thinking I should stay in more- and read!'

The awards are a celebration of the finest of Scotland’s contemporary writing and are open to published authors from, or based in, Scotland. This year’s winners were selected by an expert judging panel comprised of: Professor Alan Riach, poet and Head of the Department of Scottish Literature at the University of Glasgow; Lilias Fraser, Reader Development Officer at the Scottish Poetry Library; Pat Kane, writer, musician, consultant and blogger; and Dr Gavin Wallace, Head of Literature at the Scottish Arts Council, who chairs the panel in a non-voting capacity.

The judging panel selected the final four titles from an original longlist of over 120 books.

Details of the winning titles in each category are as follows.

FICTION 
Kieron Smith, boy by James Kelman, (Hamish Hamilton)
Highly acclaimed author James Kelman’s latest novel is the story of a boy growing up in post-war Glasgow. Glasgow-based Kelman is one of Scotland’s best-known literary talents who has recently been shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize.

Commenting on the book’s selection as winner in the Fiction category Pat Kane on behalf of the judges said:

‘James Kelman's fiction is completely committed to the project of articulating the complex inner voices of the under-voiced and disregarded. By this light, Kieran Smith, boy is his masterpiece: the social convulsions of post-war Glasgow refracted through the resilient, inventive, tireless consciousness of a scheme boy. A stunning and moving achievement.’

NON-FICTION
This is Not About Me by Janice Galloway, (Granta)
In this first volume of her memoirs, Janice Galloway brings all the brilliance of her prize-winning fiction to bear on her own memories. One of Scotland's most acclaimed authors, this autobiographical work recalls her childhood years growing up in Saltcoats in the west of Scotland. The book has garnered extensive critical praise and was a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week.
 
Commenting on the book’s selection as winner in the Non-Fiction category Gavin Wallace on behalf of the judges said:
 
'This is writing of sheer magnitude of feeling and consummate control, shimmering with luminosity of insight and chilling the pages with the tragically simple terrors of childish vulnerability and bewilderment. The book also features amongst its small cast of characters two of the most compellingly depicted domestic bullies anywhere in Scottish literature, all the more memorably awful for being products of reality, not the imagination.'

POETRY
Dear Alice: Narratives of madness by Tom Pow, (Salt Publishing)
Tom Pow’s powerful new collection of poetry explores the imaginative legacy of a nineteenth-century lunatic asylum, the Crichton, drawing on the richly-documented history of the site. The Crichton, now part of Glasgow University’s Crichton Campus in Dumfries is now Pow’s workplace where he is Senior lecturer in Creative Writing.

Commenting on the book’s selection as winner in the Poetry category Lilias Fraser on behalf of the judges said:

‘Tom Pow’s book pulls off an incredible high-wire act. It’s a riveting story about place and people. It’s a meticulously-researched study of madness and its inheritance. And it’s a masterclass in how a collection of poems can handle such a huge subject with an explosive, vivid, brutal, funny, concentrated grace.’

FIRST BOOK
Moonshine in the Morning by Andrea McNicoll, (Alma Books)
Andrea McNicoll, a fluent Thai speaker, makes her literary debut with a novel about an unforgettable cast of strong-minded women and their wayward husbands clinging to village life in Thailand before the relentless advance of modernity.  Andrea McNicoll is a graduate of Glasgow University’s prestigious Creative Writing MPhil programme and lives and works in Glasgow.

Commenting on the book’s selection as winner in the First Book category Alan Riach on behalf of the judges said:

‘In a Thailand village full of vivid presences – spicy food, strong drink – a range of exhilarating characters in various occupations begin to feel the priorities of modernity, money and power encroaching, changing their lives forever. Unexpectedly deepening, this astonishingly accomplished, lucid debut blends sometimes crazy humour with a tragic sense of a society ending.’

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards are run in partnership with the Scottish Arts Council and the Trust’s generous sponsorship has allowed an increase for the overall Book of the Year prize to £30,000.

Commenting on the shortlist announcement Sir Donald Mackay Chairman of Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust said:

'We are delighted to be involved. Supporting these prestigious book awards is a very suitable way for Scottish Mortgage to celebrate its centenary. By showcasing Scotland’s finest literary talent Scottish Mortgage hopes to shed light on its own intellectual and insightful approach to investment over the past 100 years'

Jim Tough, Chief Executive, Scottish Arts Council stated:

‘The book awards are a celebration of the vibrancy of contemporary Scottish literature and I congratulate the category winners on their nominations against such stiff competition. I would also like to thank the judges for their dedication and professionalism and thank our sponsors Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust for their generous support.

The book awards are just one of the many ways we support the literature sector in Scotland, in addition to the awards we fund new and established writers directly through bursaries, residencies and support for the publishing sector. We are also committed to increasing participation in the arts through support for readership initiatives.’

Richard Holloway Chairman of the Joint Board of Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen said:

‘I am thrilled with this list of prize-winners, incorporating, as it does, the cream of Scotland’s best writers, alongside a startling new talent.’

Minister for Culture Michael Russell said:

‘Scotland is a literary and literate nation which has always produced great writing and great writers. These awards provide a fitting recognition to celebrate the best of Scottish writing. This year’s list of winners demonstrates the wealth of creative talent that exists across all genres and profiles some of the best modern Scottish books which inspire adults and children alike.’

Borders Book Festival Director Alistair Moffat said:

‘The Borders Book Festival always boasts that its programme contains nothing but the best, but with the announcement of the category winners for Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards, the Scottish Arts Council and its judging panel back our claims to the hilt. The very best of Scottish literature will be celebrated in Melrose this summer.’

Notes to editors

Author quotes, full biographies and synopses of the books are available in the accompanying press pack.

Images of the authors and book covers are available on request.

To arrange interviews with the authors or judges contact Maggie Page at the Scottish Arts Council Media Office.

1. The four category winners were selected from a shortlist of 20 titles. Full details of the awards and shortlist are available of the Scottish Arts Council website www.scottisharts.org.uk/bookawards.
2. The overall Book of the Year award will be announced on Friday 19 June at the Borders Book Festival, Melrose.
3. The renamed Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards are the next evolution of the Scottish Arts Council Book Awards which were first introduced in the 1970s. The generous sponsorship by Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust represents a long term sponsorship commitment and celebrates the Trust’s Centenary year in 2009.
4. Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust is one of the oldest and largest investment trusts listed on the London Stock Exchange. The company has been managed by Scotland’s leading independent fund manager Baillie Gifford since its launch in 1909. It started life providing mortgages to the owners of rubber plantations in Malaya seeking to profit from the advent of the mass produced motor car. Today Scottish Mortgage invests on a global basis and looks to reward its investors by searching out strong companies which offer above average returns to their shareholders. As at 31/12/08 Scottish Mortgage had total assets of £1475m.
5. The Scottish Arts Council is a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) which was established by Royal Charter in 1994 and is also a Lottery distributor. The organisation serves the people of Scotland by fostering arts of excellence through investment, development, research and advocacy. Our corporate aims are: to support artists to fulfil their creative and business potential; to increase participation in the arts; and to place the arts, culture and creativity at the heart of learning. We invest £60m each year, including £15 million of National Lottery funding.

Contact email(s)

media.office@scottisharts.org.uk

Issued by: Scottish Arts Council