Princess book is write for big prize
A biography of Princess Margaret and a series of experimental short stories have won the UK’s longest-running literary awards.
The winners of the James Tait Black Awards were announced by broadcaster Sal ly Magnusson at the Edinburgh International Book Festival yesterday.
Satirist and journalist Craig Brown received the £10,000 biography prize for Ma’am Darling: 99 Glimpses Of Princess Margaret.
Described as a “witty and unconventional picture of royal l ife in the mid 20th century”, it combines interviews, parodies and essays.
The £10,000 fiction prize went to Eley Williams for Attrib. And Other Stories.
The short stories focus on the challenges people face in communicating thoughts and feelings, and the book experiments with language and uses puns, forgotten words and hidden meanings.
Williams teaches creative writ ing and chi ldren’s literature at Royal Holloway, University of London.
The awards were founded in 1919 by Janet Coats, the widow of publisher James Tait Black, to commemorate her husband’s love of good books.
They’re awarded annually by the Universit y of Edinburgh and are judged by scholars and students.
Organisers said they are the UK’s longest-running literary awards.
Past winners include Graham Greene, EM Forster, DH Lawrence, Muriel Spark, and Martin Amis.