The 6 Scottish authors shortlisted for major literary prizes
Six Scottish authors have been shortlisted
Six Scottish writers have been shortlisted in a major literary awards ceremony.
The writers are up for a range of prizes at the Society of Authors (SoA) awards, including one accolade awarded to a disabled or chronically ill author writing about a character facing similar issues.
Tom Newlands is the only author to be shortlisted for two prizes – the ADCI Literary Prize and the McKitterick Prize for a first novel by an author over 40 – for his work Only Here, Only Now. The publication explores what it means to come of age in a “forgotten corner of Scotland”.
Ali Smith is also among the shortlisted Scots, with Gordon Bowker Volcano Prize shortlisted novel Gliff, which fits the award criteria for focusing on the experience of travel away from home. She is up against writers including One Day author David Nicholls for You Are Here and Matt Haig for The Life Impossible, published by Edinburgh-based Canongate Books.
Hamish Grey is shortlisted for the ALCS Tom Gallon Trust Award for his short story, But the fire will spit again, and Genevieve Jagger and Madeline Docherty, are each shortlisted for the Betty Trask Prize for first time writers under 35, for their novels Fragile Animals and Gender Theory respectively.
Meanwhile, Sara Ogilvie is shortlisted for a Queen’s Knickers Award, as the illustrator of Big Bad Wolf Investigates Fairy Tales, written by Catherine Cawthorne.
Chair of the SoA board, Vanessa Fox O’Loughlin, said: “The SoA Awards truly demonstrate the breadth and height of voices both nationally and internationally. We are delighted to be able to showcase the richness of talent across so many genre areas and are thrilled each year with the reach of submissions. As authors we understand what these books represent and the SoA Awards are a rare opportunity to celebrate and reward the work of a huge range of talent."
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Judge Jini Reddy said Ms Smith’s novel “movingly articulates the courage that resistance demands of us”:
She said: “The books on this year’s Gordon Bowker Volcano Prize shortlist transport the reader to worlds perilous, political, speculative and amorous.”
The ADCI Literary Prize is awarded to a disabled or chronically ill writer, for an outstanding novel containing a disabled or chronically ill character or characters.
Penny Batchelor, judge of the prize, said: “This year's shortlisted books all have powerful plots that pack a punch, immersing the reader in finely-crafted worlds and situations that can shock, cause the shedding of tears, an out-loud belly laugh, or silent recognition of solidarity with their multifaceted characters.
“Covering historical, literary and contemporary fiction, there's something on the shortlist for any reader who wants to eschew outmoded disability stereotypes and engage with powerful stories showing the realities of living a disabled life.”
Rebecca Foster, judge of the McKitterick prize, added: “Each of these six novels has a fully realized style. So confident and inviting are they that it’s hard to believe they are debuts. With nuanced characters and authentic settings and dilemmas, they engage the mind and delight the emotions. I will be following these authors’ careers with keen interest.”
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