All-women shortlist as authors praised in fight for £5,000 book prize
AN all-women shortlist has been chosen for a leading Scottish book prize.
The Margins by Jessica Thummel, Shadow Jumping by Margaret Ries and London Clay by Amy Spencer are up for this year’s Dundee International Book Prize.
All three novels will now go before a judging panel that consists of broadcaster Shereen Nanjiani, poet Ian McMillan, critic Hannah McGill and publisher Adrian Searle.
Organisers of the competition will announce the winner at this year’s Dundee Literary Festival, which takes place from October 19-23.
The award includes a £5,000 prize and a publishing deal with Freight Books.
Peggy Hughes, of Literary Dundee, a University of Dundee-led initiative that connects readers and writers, said: “We’ve got three really brilliant novels on our hands in what’s been a particularly strong year for the Dundee International Book Prize.
“The Dundee International Book Prize is a vital part of our work, and a key way in which we celebrate and champion new voices. This year’s shortlist is a stellar mix of international talent and genres, and we are excited to see which one will win.”
The Margins is the comingof-age story of Sam Gavin, who moves from Kansas to San Francisco in the summer of 1989. Shadow Jumping is set in Berlin in the early 1990s, while London Clay is the story of Evie Gray, a young woman from a family haunted by disappearances.
Publisher Adrian Searle, of Freight Books, said: “From a strong longlist, after much deliberation, we’ve selected an outstanding shortlist that demonstrates experience and powerful storytelling.
“Each of the three writers here have shown real craft and all have exciting futures ahead of them, regardless of who comes out on top.”
The Dundee International Book Prize is in its 12th year.
The 2015 winner was Martin Cathcart Froden, who was honoured for his novel Devil Take the Hindmost.
Originally from Sweden, Mr Cathcart has lived in Canada, Israel, Argentina and London and worked as a drummer, avocado picker, sound engineer, magazine editor and greengrocer, as well as teaching English in prisons.
His fiction has been shortlisted for various awards over the years, including the Bridport Prize, and broadcast on Radio 4.