‘Stellar mix of talent’ on book prize shortlist

WRITERS from three continents have made this year’s shortlist for the Dundee International Book prize.

The 10 novels, hailing from New Zealand to Scotland’s most northerly tip, were selected from hundreds of entries and will battle it out for a publishing deal with Freight Books. The winner will also be awarded a £5,000 cash prize and a week’s protected writing time in Dundee.

Peggy Hughes, manager of Literary Dundee, said: “The shortlist is a stellar mix of international talent and genres. We’re deeply excited to see which one will win.”

The prize is now in its 12th year and continues to grow annually. The winner will be announced during the Dundee Literary Festival in October. Will Dawson, Dundee City Council’s city development committee convener, said: “I never envy the judges the difficult task they have of choosing just one winner from such a strong field.”

The shortlist is: Not to be Reproduced, by Kristina Gorcheva-Newberry; The Margins, by Jessica Thummel; In Borderlands, by Richard Strachan; London Clay, by Amy Spencer; Reading Through Binoculars, by James Cole; Shadow Jumping, by Margaret Ries; The Life of De’Ath, by Majella Cullinane; The Shadow of Pure Light, by Emile Cassen; Ghost of a Writer, by Helen Dann; and The Great Edge, by George Gunn.