Three Highland publishers shortlisted for Scotland’s national book awards
Three publishers based in Argyll and the Highlands have been shortlisted for The Saltire Society’s Emerging Publisher of the Year Award.
Alan Windram, Little Door Books, Oban; Anne Glennie, Cranachan, Lewis, and Kay Farrell, Sandstone Press, Inverness, are among six publishers shortlisted for the coveted prize.
Pauline Cuchet and Jamie Norman, Canongate Books, and Richard Wainman, Floris Books are also in the running for the award.
Three Gaelic books have made the shortlist – Còig Duilleagan na Seamraig (Five Leaves of the Shamrock) by Ruairidh MacIlleathain (CLÀR) in the fiction category and CLÀR stablemate Seòl Mo Bheatha (My Life Journey) by Dòmhnall Eachann Meek in the non-fiction category and Ceum air Cheum by Christopher Whyte (Acair), a collection in both English and Gaelic in the poetry category.
Widely regarded as Scotland’s national book awards, the annual Saltire Literary Awards recognise work across six literary categories (fiction, non-fiction, research, history, poetry and first book) and two publishing categories (publisher and emerging publisher).
An additional award, The Calum MacDonald
Memorial Award for the publisher of an outstanding example of pamphlet poetry published during the previous year, is presented in partnership with the Scottish Poetry Library.
This year, for the first time, the Saltire Society will be awarding a prize for Scottish book cover and a special award for lifetime achievement.
The winners of all 11 prizes, and the Saltire Book of the Year, will be announced at a ceremony in Edinburgh on Saturday November 30.
Sarah Mason, programme director at the Saltire Society, said: ‘We are proud of the fact that the Saltire Literary Awards shortlists celebrate the diversity, quality and richness of books to come from Scotland over the past year.
‘The Saltire Literary
Awards have a proud history of recognising excellence and bringing this to wider attention and we congratulate the writers and publishers who have been shortlisted this year.
‘With the introduction of the book cover award and the lifetime achievement award we believe Scotland’s national book awards truly celebrate Scotland’s literary landscape.
‘We look forward to welcoming our shortlistees and winners on St Andrew’s Day at our largest awards ceremony ever.’
The Saltire Literary Awards are supported by Creative Scotland.
Mairi Kidd, Creative Scotland’s head of literature, languages and publishing, said: ‘From Melanie Reid, Kate Clanchy and Damian Barr to Lucy Ellman, Polly
Clark and Kerry Hudson, the 2019 Saltire Literary Awards shortlists again demonstrate the wealth of established writing talent in Scotland across all genres and the Saltire Society’s ongoing commitment to uncovering the major voices of the future.
‘The new awards for cover design and poetry pamphlets will be welcomed by Scotland’s industrious publishers and the lifetime achievement award offers a great opportunity to mark the body of work of a very significant writer.’
The winners of each category will receive a bespoke award created by Inverness based-artist Simon Baker of Evergreen Studios.
Winners will be announced at a ceremony at the National Museum of Scotland on Saturday November 30.