Welsh on Saltire list

IRVINE Welsh and James Kelman are among the famous names in the running for the Saltire Literary Awards. Welsh’s The Blade Artist, featuring the return of Trainspotting character Begbie, has been shortlisted for the Fiction Book of the Year award.

He is up against Kelman’s latest novel Dirt Road, His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet, The Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenni Fagan, Kevin MacNeil’s The Brilliant & Forever, and This Must Be The Place from best-selling author Maggie O’Farrell.