The Scottish public is being invited to vote for the most inspiring winner of the Saltire First Book Award, party of the Saltire Literary Awards as the Saltire Society celebrates thirty years since the First Book Award category was first created in 1988.
Over that period, many First Book Award winners have gone on to become leading figures in the Scottish literary landscape. Decided by a panel of current and past judges, a shortlist of six past winners will be put to a public vote in the lead-up to this year’s official Saltire Literary Awards ceremony on the 30th November.
Included in the shortlist is Glasgow-born poet Kate Clanchy, whose first poetry collection, “Slattern” was named Saltire First Book Award winner in 1996. Since winning, Clanchy has gone on to become a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio as well as contributing to the Guardian newspaper and having work published in the Scotsman, the New Statesman and Poetry Review.
Her poetry has won and been shortlisted for numerous awards including the Forward Poetry Prize in 1996 and 1999, the Somerset Maugham Award in 1997 and the Writers’ Guild Award in 2009, while her first novel “Meeting the English” was shortlisted for the Costa Book Awards in 2013.
Also featured is Dutch-born Michel Faber, who was awarded the Saltire First Book Award in 1999 for his short story collection “Some rain must fall”. Since then, Faber’s novel “The Crimson Petal and the White” has been adapted into a four part BBC television series and his first novel “Under the Skin” has been turned into a feature film directed by Jonathan Glazer and starring Scarlett Johannsson.
“Under the Skin” was also shortlisted for the Whitbread First Novel Award while his short stories have won awards including the Neil Gunn prize and the Ian St. James award. More recently, Faber’s novel “The Book of Strange New Things” was named Saltire Book of the Year in 2015.
A third writer to feature on the shortlist is 1992 First Book Award winner Jackie Kay who won the 1992 award for “The Adoption Papers”, a collection of poetry inspired by her own experience of being the daughter of a Nigerian father and a Scottish mother, adopted and growing up within a white family in Glasgow.
In 2006, Jackie Kay was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to literature. Since winning the first book award 26 years ago, Jackie Kay has produced a series of poetry collections and her debut novel “Trumpet”, published in 1998, was awarded the Guardian Fiction Prize. In 2016, Jackie Kay succeeded Liz Lochhead as Scotland’s third modern Makar.
Fourth shortlistee A. L. Kennedy first came to prominence with her 1990 short story collection “Night Geometry and the Garscadden Trains” which scooped the Saltire First Book Award in 1991. Since then, her output has included numerous short story collections and a series of novels, alongside non-fiction, screenwriting and a number of radio plays.
Awards have included the Somerset Maugham Award in 1994, the Encore Award in 1996 and the Lannan Literary Award for fiction, Costa Book of the Year and Saltire Book of the Year awards, all awarded in 2007 for her novel “Day”. In 2008, she won the Internationale Eifel-Literatur-Preis, awarded every two years, and in 2016, the Heinrich Heine Prize, awarded to individuals judged, through their work, to embody the spirit of 19th-century German poet Christian Johann Heinrich Heine.
Inverness-born writer Ali Smith won the First Book Award in 1995 for her short story collection “Free Love and Other Stories”. In the intervening 23 years since winning the award, Ali Smith has gone on to be shortlisted multiple times for the Man Booker Prize. Her 2014 publication “How to be Both” was awarded both the Goldsmiths and Baileys Prize and the Costa Book Award for Best Novel. In 2015, she was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to literature.
The shortlist is rounded out by English-born author Louise Welsh who received the Saltire First Book Award for debut novel “The Cutting Room” in 2002. The novel went on to win the 2003 Orange Prize for Fiction. Welsh has subsequently written seven further novels, three plays and two collections of short stories. Between 2010 and 2012, she was the Writer in Residence at the University of Glasgow and Glasgow School of Art.
In 2014, she directed the Empire Café, a multi-disciplinary exploration of Scotland’s relationship with the North Atlantic slave trade which featured in the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games Cultural Programme. Welsh has also written libretto for a number of touring opera productions.
The six writer shortlist will now be put to a public vote on social media which will be open until Monday 5 November. The winner of the public vote will then be presented with a special award as “Most inspiring Saltire First Book winner” at this year’s Saltire Literary Awards, due to take place on Friday the 30th November, St Andrew’s Day.
Saltire Society Director Sarah Mason commented: “Since being launched in 1988, the Saltire First Book Award has consistently shone a light on a fascinating selection of hugely talented writers, spanning poetry and prose in a wide variety of styles and genres.
“It’s been really interesting to look back over the past 30 years and to observe how many past winners have gone on to make such a lasting impression on the modern literary landscape – here in Scotland, across the UK and internationally as well.
“We wanted to mark this important milestone by celebrating their collective achievement and asking the general public to vote for who they think has been the most inspirational winner of the First Book Award. Good luck to all six writers on the shortlist and I look forward to seeing the winner collect their special award on the 30th November.”
Saltire Literary Awards judge Dolina MacLennan said: “With so much unique creative talent amongst the past winners of the First Book Award, narrowing the public vote down to a shortlist of six has been a real challenge.
“Every single past First Book Award winner has made an enduring impact on the Scottish literary scene in one way or another – and you could make a strong case for every one of them to feature on a shortlist of great writers. In drawing up this particular shortlist, we considered each individual writer’s contribution to literature, how they have grown as a writer since winning the award and how much inspiration they have provided to others.
“As we launch the public vote, I look forward to stimulating lots of passionate discussion about these six writers and their work and to seeing who emerges as the ultimate winner of this special 30th anniversary award.”
Further details of the First Book past winners shortlist and the public vote can be found on the Saltire Society website at www.saltiresociety.org.uk.
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