Trebles all round as Edinburgh writers scoop awards

It’s ‘Literary’ a hat trick for city authors!

A trio of Edinburgh writers have each won a prestigious award as part of the 2015 Saltire Literary Awards.

Edinburgh City Libraries’ Poet in Residence Ryan Van Winkle has won the Saltire Scottish Poetry Book of the Year Award supported by the Scottish Poetry Library for his latest collection The Good Dark.

Edinburgh-based writer Helen McClory has won the 2015 Saltire Society Scottish First Book of the Year Award for On the Edges of Vision, a collection of dark short stories and prose poetry about the limits of the conscious and the darkness within.

And the Saltire Society Scottish Non-Fiction Book of the Year Award has gone to Adventures in Human Being, a book that takes the reader through surgery, blood, dissection and much besides that keeps the human being ticking over, written by Edinburgh physician Gavin Francis, whose book Empire Antarctica was previously shortlisted for the 2013 Saltire Literary Awards.

Now firmly established as Scotland’s most prestigious annual book awards, the Saltire Society Literary Awards celebrate and support literary and academic excellence across seven distinct categories with the winner of each of six individual book categories going forward to be considered for the Saltire Book of the Year award.

The winner of this year’s headline award was “The Book of Strange New Things”, the latest work from Dutch-born, Scotland-based writer Michel Faber. The Saltire Book of the Year Award is supported by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland.

Faber is a past winner of the Saltire First Book of the Year award for his 2000 debut novel Under the Skin, which was later adapted into a 2013 feature film directed by Jonathan Glazer and starring Scarlett Johansson. His 2002 novel The Crimson Petal and the White was dramatised as a four part BBC television series starring Romola Garai and Richard E. Grant in 2011.

Set in a not-so-distant future where a global corporation has successfully colonised a planet in a neighbouring galaxy, Faber’s latest book is a genre-defying novel that tells the story of Peter, a Christian pastor sent to carry out missionary work amongst the aliens native to the planet. As the story progresses, Peter becomes increasingly uneasy about his situation and the mysterious disappearance of his predecessor and finds it more and more difficult to relate his experiences to his wife back home on Earth.

“The Book of Strange New Things” is a powerful examination of humanity and how a failure to communicate can gradually erode marital intimacy. Cloud Atlas author David Mitchell has called it “Michel Faber’s second masterpiece”. Others have variously described it as “gripping”, “heartbreaking”, and “desperately beautiful, sad and unforgettable”.

Commenting on winning the Saltire Scottish Poetry Book of the Year award, Ryan van Winkle (above) said: “Having chosen Scotland as my adopted home, this is a very special honour for me.  I did not expect this at all and am proud that the Saltire Society found ‘The Good Dark’ worthy. I am flattered and grateful for this distinction.”

Winner of the Saltire Society Scottish First Book of the Year Award Helen McClory (above) said: “I am utterly delighted that On the Edges of Vision has won this year’s Saltire First Book of the Year Award. That On the Edges of Vision was published at all seems to me a minor miracle — a case of the right editor at the right moment. Erin McKnight, the Scotland-born American founder of Queen’s Ferry Press, took this collection of flashes, dusted and sharpened them where they needed to be, and ushered them into the world. For the collection to then win this prize is a huge boost not just to myself but the press as well, highlighting QFP’s innovative mission. Sparklers in both hands, quite honestly.”

Andrew Franklin, Managing Director at Profile Books, who published Gavin Francis’ (below) Saltire Society Scottish Non-Fiction Book of the Year Adventures in Human Being, said: “From the bottom of our hearts, lungs, livers, brains, feet and all the other body parts that Gavin writes so brilliantly about, we’re absolutely delighted that the Saltire Prize have chosen Gavin’s wonderfulAdventures in Human Being as the winner of the 2015 prize. Welcome Collection and Profile have always been Gavin’s biggest fans, and it’s fantastic to see his work recognised by such a prestigious prize.”

Executive Director of the Saltire Society Jim Tough said: “Given the sheer breadth and variety of writing talent on display, this has been a vintage year for the Saltire Literary Awards. I think our decision to split the Literary Book Award into two separate categories for fiction and non-fiction has been vindicated. These and indeed every one of the individual book awards were hotly contested, making the judges’ decision a particularly challenging one.

“The same was also true of this year’s Publisher of the Year Award. My congratulations to all of the winners and my heartfelt thanks to the judging panel and to all of our partners and supporters who helped to make the 2015 Saltire Literary Awards such a resounding success.”

Janet Archer, CEO, Creative Scotland said: “The list of winners takes readers on a journey from the diaspora of Scotland to the horrors of the First World War and out to the ends of the universe.  The strength of this year’s shortlist is testament to the quality and scope of Scotland’s rich literary scene. These awards are important as they celebrate and recognise literary excellence in Scotland and highlight established and emerging authors to readers across the country. Huge congratulations to each of the category winners.”