Scotland's National Book Awards, formerly known as the Saltire Society Literary Awards, are made annually by the Saltire Society. First awarded in 1937, they are awarded for books by Scottish authors or about Scotland, and are awarded in several categories.

History

The first Saltire Society Book Award was given in 1937, the year after the Saltire Society was established. No awards were given after 1939 due to the Second World War, and the next award was made 1956. The History Book of the Year award was inaugurated in 1965. In 1982 sponsorship was obtained and since then the awards have been made annually. First books have been recognised since 1988, and in 1998 the award for Scottish Research Book of the Year was established.[1]

Until around 2021, the awards were known as the Saltire Society Literary Awards, subtitled Scotland's National Book Awards,[2] but then took on the subtitle as the name covering all of the literary awards that the society awards: Scotland's National Book Awards, and are known by this name as of May 2023.[3]

Description

The awards seek to recognise books which are either by "living authors of Scottish descent or residing in Scotland," or which deal with "the work or life of a Scot or with a Scottish question, event or situation".[4]

As of 2022, the winner in each category receives an award created by artist Simon Baker of Evergreen Studios, based in Inverness; the winners of each literary award receive a cash prize of £2,000, while the winner of the Saltire Society Book of the Year is given a further £4,000.[5]

Categories

A one-off Homecoming Book of the Year award was made in 2009 to celebrate the "Year of homecoming": the award was presented to American professor Donald Worster for his biography of John Muir, A Passion for Nature.[6]

In 2014, the Scottish Literary Book of the Year was awarded,[7] but did not return in subsequent years.

As of 2022, the Saltire Society presents awards in the seven following categories:[5]

  • Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award (formerly "Scottish Book of the Year")
  • Saltire Society First Book of the Year
  • Saltire Society History Book of the Year
  • Saltire Society Research Book of the Year
  • Saltire Society Poetry Book of the Year (introduced in 2014)[7]
  • Saltire Society Fiction Book of the Year (introduced in 2015)[8]
  • Saltire Society Non-Fiction Book of the Year (introduced in 2015)[8]
  • Saltire Society Book Cover Design of the Year
  • Saltire Society Publisher of the Year
  • Saltire Society Emerging Publisher of the Year (awarded in partnership with Publishing Scotland)

In 2019, a Lifetime Achievement Award was introduced, the inaugural prize going to Alasdair Gray.[9][10][11] In 2022, Alexander McCall Smith won the prize.[5]

In addition, an annual student travel bursary is awarded to a creative writing graduate, and the Ross Roy Medal is awarded for the best PhD thesis on a subject related to Scottish literature.[12]

Past winners

Scottish Book of the Year

The Scottish Book of the Year award was established in 1937,[1] and has been given annually since 1982. The award is open to novels, poetry and plays as well as non-fiction works on Scottish subjects.[12]

Year Work Author Ref(s)
1937 Highland River Neil Gunn [1]
The Lord BothwellRobert Gore-Browne
1939 Three PlaysRobert McLellan[1]
1956 One Foot in EdenEdwin Muir[1]
1958 Scotland Before HistoryStuart Piggott[1]
1982 Lanark: A Life in Four BooksAlasdair Gray[13]
1983 Collected PoemsDerick Thomson
Poems of Thirty YearsEdwin Morgan
1984 God and the Poets: The Gifford LecturesDavid Daiches
Intimate Voices: Selected WorksTom Leonard
1985 Collected PoemsNorman MacCaig
1986 A Storm From ParadiseStuart Hood
1987 The Stories of Muriel SparkMuriel Spark
1988 Games with ShadowsNeal Ascherson
The Enchanted Glass: Britain and its MonarchyTom Nairn
1989 A Question of LoyaltiesAllan Massie
1990 O Choille gu Bearradh / From Wood to RidgeSorley MacLean
1991 Scottish Art 1460–1990Duncan Macmillan
1992 Collected PoemsIain Crichton Smith
1993 Robert Burns – A BiographyJames A. Mackay
1994 Beside the Ocean of TimeGeorge Mackay Brown
1995 Black SeaNeal Ascherson
1996 The KilnWilliam McIlvanney
1997 Grace NotesBernard MacLaverty
1998 The SopranosAlan Warner
1999 PursuitsGeorge Bruce
2000 The Lantern BearersRonald Frame
2001 MedeaLiz Lochhead
2002 ClaraJanice Galloway[14]
2003 Joseph KnightJames Robertson
2004 In Another LightAndrew Greig[15]
2005 Case HistoriesKate Atkinson[16]
2006 A Lie About My FatherJohn Burnside
2007 DayA. L. Kennedy
2008 Kieron Smith, boyJames Kelman[17]
2009 The Bard: Robert Burns, a BiographyRobert Crawford[18]
2010 And the Land Lay StillJames Robertson[19]
2011 A Life in PicturesAlasdair Gray
2012 Mo Said She Was QuirkyJames Kelman
2013 Something Like HappyJohn Burnside[20]
2014 The Scottish Town in the Age of Enlightenment 1740-1820Bob Harris and Charles McKean[21]
2015 The Book of Strange New ThingsMichel Faber[22][23]
2016 The Bonniest Companie Kathleen Jamie [24]
2017 Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe Kapka Kassabova [25]
2018
2019
2020
2021 Duck Feet Ely Percy [26][27]
2022 Slaves and Highlanders:  Silenced Histories of Scotland and the Caribbean David Alston

Scottish Fiction of the Year

The fiction book of the year award was inaugurated in 2015.

Year Work Author Ref(s)
2015 The Book of Strange New ThingsMichel Faber[22][23]
2016 His Bloody ProjectGraeme Macrae Burnet[24]
2017 Memory and StrawAngus Peter Campbell[25]
2018 Elsewhere, Home Leila Aboulela [28]
2019 Nina XEwan Morrison[29]
2020
2021 Duck Feet Ely Percy [26]
2022 Blood & Gold: A Journey of Shadows Mara Menzies

Scottish First Book of the Year

The first book of the year award was inaugurated in 1988 and recognises an author who has not previously published a book. As with the book of the year, the award is open to novels, plays, poems and non-fiction.[12]

Year Work Author Ref(s)
1988 The Richt NoiseRaymond Vettese
1989 Cells of KnowledgeSian Hayton
1990 The Ballad of Sawney BainHarry Tait
1991 Night Geometry and the Garscadden TrainsA. L. Kennedy
1992 Adoption PapersJackie Kay
Uirsgeul/Myth Christopher Whyte
1993 Robert Louis Stevenson: Dreams Of ExileIan Bell[30]
1994 Music, in a Foreign LanguageAndrew Crumey[31]
1995 Free Love and Other StoriesAli Smith
1996 SlatternKate Clanchy
1997 A Painted FieldRobin Robertson
1998 The Pied Piper's PoisonChristopher Wallace
Two Clocks TickingDennis O'Donnell
1999 Some Rain Must FallMichel Faber
2000 The Rising SunDouglas Galbraith
2001 In the Blue HouseMeaghan Delahunt
2002 Burns the Radical Liam McIlvanney [14]
The Cutting RoomLouise Welsh
2003 Ath – AithneMartainn Mac an t-Saoir
2004 StargazingPeter Hill[15]
2005 Amande's BedJohn Aberdein[16]
2006 George Mackay Brown: The LifeMaggie Fergusson
2007 Fresh – A novelMark McNay
2008 The Good MayorAndrew Nicoll
2009 The Tin-KinEleanor Thom[18]
2010 The History of Orkney Literature Simon W. Hall [19]
The Death of Lomond FrielSue Peebles
2011 The Echo ChamberLuke Williams
2012 The Last HighlanderSarah Fraser
2013 Air Cuan Dubh Drilseach Tim Armstrong [20]
As Far As I Can See Eunice Buchanan
2014 MoontideNiall Campbell[21]
2015 On the Edges of VisionHelen McClory[32][23]
2016 Trials on Death Row Isabel Buchanan [33]
Expecting Chitra Ramaswamy
2017 Goblin Ever Dundas [34]
2018 Sal Mick Kitson [35]
2019 Threads of Life Clare Hunter [36]
Seafarers Stephen Rutt
2020
2021 Bleak: The Mundane Comedy Roddy Murray [26]
2022 IN Will McPhail

Scottish History Book of the Year

The award for History Book of the Year was established in 1965 in honour of the historian Agnes Mure Mackenzie (1891–1955).[37]

Year Work Author Ref(s)
1982 Thomas Chalmers and the Godly CommonwealthStewart J. Brown
1983
1984
1985
1986 A Century of the Scottish People 1830–1950T. C. Smout
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994 James IMichael Brown
1995 The Great Highland FamineTom Devine
1996
1997 The Early Stewart Kings: Robert II and Robert III 1371–1406Stephen Boardman
1998 The Identity of the Scottish NationWilliam Ferguson
1999 Patrick Sellar and the Highland Clearances: Homicide, Eviction and the Price of ProgressEric Richards
2000 The Rough Wooings: Mary Queen Of Scots 1542–1551Marcus Merriman
2001 The Late Medieval Scottish Parliament: Politics and the Three Estates 1424–1488Roland Tanner[38]
2002 The Culture of Protestantism in Early Modern ScotlandMargo Todd
2004 Adventurers and Exiles: The Great Scottish ExodusMarjory Harper[15]
2005 David IIMichael Penman[16]
2006 Native Lordships in Medieval Scotland: The Earldoms of Strathearn and Lennox c.1140–1365Cynthia J. Neville[39]
2006 Scotland's Historic HeraldryBruce A. McAndrew[40]
2007 The Scots and the UnionChristopher Whatley[41]
2008 From Pictland to Alba 789–1070Alex Woolf[42]
2009 A History of Scottish PhilosophyAlexander Broadie[43]
2010 Whaur Extremes Meet: Scotland's Twentieth CenturyCatriona M. M. MacDonald[44]
2011 The Inner Life of Empires: An Eighteenth Century HistoryEmma Rothschild[45]
2012 A Military History of ScotlandE. Spiers, J. Crang and M. Strickland (editors)[37]
2013 An Enlightened Duke: The Life of Archibald Campbell (1682–1761), Earl of Ilay, 3rd Duke of ArgyllRoger L. Emerson[20]
2014 Scottish Gods, Religion in the Modern Scotland 1900–2012Steve Bruce[21]
2015 A Chasm in Time – Scottish War Art And Artists in the Twentieth CenturyPatricia R. Andrew[46][23]
2016 Set Adrift Upon the World James Hunter [47]
2017
2018 The Drowned and the Saved Les Wilson [48]
2019 Alexander III, 1249-1286: First Among Equals Norman Reid [49]
2020
2021 Stuart Style: Monarchy, Dress and the Scottish Male Elite Maria Hayward [26]
2022 Slaves and Highlanders:  Silenced Histories of Scotland and the Caribbean David Alston

Scottish Research Book of the Year

This award was initiated in 1998, and is made jointly by the Saltire Society and the National Library of Scotland. It aims to recognise books which "represent a significant body of research and offer new insight or dimension to the subject".[12]

Year Work Author Ref(s)
1998 The Edinburgh History of the Scots LanguageCharles Jones
1999 The Poems of William Dunbar (Volumes I & II)Priscilla Bawcutt
2000 Jessie Kesson: Writing her Life Isobel Murray
The Highland Pipe and Scottish Society William Donaldson
2001 The Scottish Book Trade 1500−1720Alastair J. Mann
2002 Sorley Maclean, Poems to Eimhir Christopher Whyte (editor) [14]
Public Sculpture of GlasgowRay McKenzie
2003 The Greig-Duncan Folk Song CollectionEmily B. Lyle and Katherine Campbell
2004 The Last of England? Randall Stevenson [15]
Maritime Enterprise and Empire: Sir William MacKinnon and his Business Network 1823–1893J. Forbes Munro
2005 Weights and Measures in ScotlandR. D. Connor and A. D. C. Simpson, edited by Alison Morrison-Low[16]
2006 Dùthchas Nan Gàidheal: Selected Essays of John MacInnesMichael Newton
2007 Scotland's Books: The Penguin History of Scottish LiteratureRobert Crawford
2008 Scott's Shadow: The Novel in Romantic EdinburghIan Duncan
2009 Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English DictionaryChristian Kay, Jane Roberts, Michael Samuels and Irené Wotherspoon[18]
2010 Robert Burns & Pastoral: Poetry and Improvement in Late Eighteenth-Century Scotland Nigel Leask [19]
Adam Smith: an Enlightened Life Nicholas Phillipson
2011 Beyond the Last DragonJames McGonigal
2012 Scotland: Mapping the NationC. Fleet, C. Withers and M. Wilkes
2013 The Sunlit Summit: The Life of W. H. MurrayRobin Lloyd-Jones[20]
2014 The Scottish Town in the Age of Enlightenment 1740-1820Bob Harris and Charles McKean[21][7]
2015 Clubbing Together: Ethnicity, Civility and Formal Sociability in the Scottish Diaspora to 1930Tanja Bueltmann[50][23]
2016 The literary Culture of Early Modern Scotland Sebastian Verweijj [51]
2017 The Light Blue Book: 500 Years of Gaelic Love and Transgressive Verse Peter Mackay & Iain MacPherson [52]
2018 What the Victorians Made of Romanticism: Material Artifacts, Cultural Practices, and Reception History Tom Mole [53]
2019 Working Verse in Victorian Scotland: Poetry, Press, Community Kirstie Blair [54]
2020
2021 Darkness Visible: The Sculptor's Cave, Covesa, from the Bronze Age to the Picts Ian Armit & Lindsey Buster [26]
2022 Surveying the Anthropocene: Environment and Photography Now Patricia McDonald (ed)

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "The Saltire Society Book of the Year Awards: A celebration of twenty five years of literature". Scottish Arts Council. Retrieved 22 January 2014.
  2. ↑ "Literature". Saltire Society. 18 November 2013. Archived from the original on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  3. ↑ "Scotland's National Book Awards". The Saltire Society. 1 September 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  4. ↑ "Awards". Saltire Society. 18 November 2013. Archived from the original on 20 April 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 "Scotland's National Book Awards 2022: Winners". The Saltire Society. 8 December 2022. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  6. ↑ "Saltire Society Literary Awards – Winning Books". Books from Scotland. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  7. 1 2 3 "2014 Saltire Society Literary Awards Winners". The Saltire Society. Saltire Society Scotland. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  8. 1 2 "2015 Saltire Society Literary Awards Winners". The Saltire Society. Saltire Society Scotland. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  9. ↑ "Gray awarded inaugural Saltire Society Lifetime Achievement Award | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com.
  10. ↑ "Alasdair Gray wins book award for influence 'running deep within Scotland'". The National.
  11. ↑ "Lanark author Alasdair Gray gets lifetime achievement honour for his contribution to Scottish literature". www.scotsman.com.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Scottish Book of the Year Winner Announced". Saltire Society. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  13. ↑ Glass, Rodge (2012). Alasdair Gray: A Secretary's Biography. Bloomsbury. p. 166. ISBN 9781408833353.
  14. 1 2 3 "Saltire awards ceremony at the library". National Library of Scotland. 12 December 2002.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Saltire book awards announced". National Library of Scotland. 3 December 2004.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "Saltire Society awards announced at NLS". National Library of Scotland. 20 November 2005.
  17. ↑ "Kelman takes top literary prize as Saltire awards get boost" Archived 1 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine, The Herald, Phil Miller, 29 November 2008.
  18. 1 2 3 "Burns Biography takes Saltire main prize". National Library of Scotland. 27 November 2009.
  19. 1 2 3 "Salmond's favourite book wins Saltire Society award". The Herald. 30 November 2010. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Brian Ferguson (15 November 2013). "Gaelic science fiction wins literary prize". The Scotsman. Retrieved 28 November 2013.
  21. 1 2 3 4 "Academic work named Saltire Book of the Year". BBC News. 11 November 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2014.
  22. 1 2 "Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award". Saltire Society Scotland. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 "Michel Faber wins Saltire Book of the Year award". BBC News. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  24. 1 2 "Scotland's National Book Awards 2016". The Saltire Society. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  25. 1 2 "Scotland's National Book Awards 2017". The Saltire Society. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 "Scotland's National Book Awards 2021 Winners". The Saltire Society. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  27. ↑ "Ely Percy's coming-of-age novel Duck Feet is named 'Scotland's Book of the Year'". www.scotsman.com. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  28. ↑ "Scotland's National Book Awards 2018: Fiction Shortlist". The Saltire Society. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  29. ↑ Flood, Alison (9 December 2019). "Book prize judge alleges co-jurors did not finish reading shortlist". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 October 2020.
  30. ↑ Lockerbie, Catherine (29 January 1994). "Saltire award for biography of Burns". The Scotsman. Edinburgh.
  31. ↑ "Music, in a Foreign Language". Dedalus Books. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  32. ↑ "Scottish First Book of the Year Award". Saltire Society Scotland. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  33. ↑ "Scotland's National Book Awards 2016". The Saltire Society. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  34. ↑ "Scotland's National Book Awards 2017". The Saltire Society. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  35. ↑ "Scotland's National Book Awards 2018: First Book Shortlist". The Saltire Society. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  36. ↑ "Scotland's National Book Awards 2019: First Book". The Saltire Society. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  37. 1 2 "Edinburgh Saltire Success". University of Edinburgh. 7 January 2013. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014.
  38. ↑ "Prestigious prize for Scottish Parliament research". University of St Andrews. 23 April 2003.
  39. ↑ "Native Lordship in Medieval Scotland". Four Courts Press. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  40. ↑ "History Book of the Year 2006". Saltire Society. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  41. ↑ "History Book of the Year 2007". Saltire Society. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  42. ↑ "History Book of the Year 2008". Saltire Society. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  43. ↑ "History Book of the Year 2009". Saltire Society. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  44. ↑ "History Book of the Year 2010". Saltire Society. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  45. ↑ "History Book of the Year 2011". Saltire Society. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  46. ↑ "Scottish History Book of the Year Award". Saltire Society Scotland. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  47. ↑ "Scotland's National Book Awards 2016". The Saltire Society. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  48. ↑ "Scotland's National Book Awards 2018: History Shortlist". The Saltire Society. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  49. ↑ "Scotland's National Book Awards 2019: History". The Saltire Society. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  50. ↑ "Scottish Research Book of the Year Award". Saltire Society Scotland. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  51. ↑ "Scotland's National Book Awards 2016". The Saltire Society. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  52. ↑ "Scotland's National Book Awards 2017". The Saltire Society. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  53. ↑ "Scotland's National Book Awards 2018: Research Shortlist". The Saltire Society. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  54. ↑ "Scotland's National Book Awards 2019: Research". The Saltire Society. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  • Strachan, Anne (1989) Prizewinning Literature: UK Literary Award Winners Library Association Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-85365-558-8

Further reading

  • Marsden, Stevie (2021). Prizing Scottish Literature: A Cultural History of the Saltire Society Literary Awards. Anthem Studies in Book History. Anthem Press. ISBN 9781785274824.
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