£1,500 Prize Offered as Search Begins for Best Literary Essay
- Past winner urges everyone with a story to tell to get writing
- Prize honours journalist and book festival chair Anne Brown
Wigtown Book Festival has launched the annual Anne Brown Essay Prize for Scotland. The £1,500 prize is awarded for the best literary essay by a writer in, or from, Scotland.
Each year the number of entries has grown, along with variety of subjects tackled by their writers.
Adrian Turpin, Wigtown Book Festival Artistic Director, said: “Essays are among the most powerful forms of writing, allowing writers to dig deep into issues and share ideas and feelings with readers in a way that combines impact with intimacy.
“Sadly, there are all too few outlets for essays these days. The Anne Brown Essay Prize is an attempt to change this, providing a platform for essayists from or with a strong connection to Scotland – a country where the essay has a proud tradition.
“As ever we will be looking for compelling writing that will engage readers by offering them fresh perspective on anything and everything, from the level of individual human experience through to vast events which shape our entire world.”
Last year’s winner was Edinburgh-based Sarah Whiteside for Thin Slices.
Sarah urged writers to enter the competition, saying: “The essay form allows for complexity and nuance and I think it’s great the Anne Brown prize is dedicated to supporting these qualities in Scottish writing.
“My essay was a personal story that aimed to show autism as a difference rather than a deficit, something I feel passionately about; it was so affirming to know my words would be shared and read as part of a wider conversation.
“If you have a story to tell, and everybody does, and particularly if you come from an underrepresented community, I would encourage you to share it by entering this year’s competition.
“I definitely didn’t think I would win, so don’t let yourself be put off by that!”
In addition to the cash, the winner receives a trophy designed by artist Astrid Jaekel, their entire essay is published on the festival website and a lengthy excerpt appears in The Herald.
Previous winners were Dani Garavelli for The Bequest, which movingly explores her Italian-Scottish heritage and Rodge Glass for On the Covenant, which addressed aspects of his relationship with his Jewish family.
The competition commemorates journalist and former Wigtown Book Festival Chair Anne Brown and is supported by her children, Richard and Jo.
The 2025 winner will be revealed at a special event during the festival, which runs from 26 September to 5 October.
See www.wigtownbookfestival.com for full details.