Women dominate fiction shortlist for Scotland’s National Book Awards

Women writers dominate the fiction shortlist for Scotland’s National Book Awards, which organisers said showcase the “dazzling variety” of work being produced.

The awards, presented by The Saltire Society, celebrate exceptional talent across fiction, non-fiction, first book, poetry and research.

Five women are in the running for the fiction book of the year prize, with the shortlisted books Study For Obedience by Sarah Bernstein, What Doesn’t Kill Us by Ajay Close, Clear by Carys Davies, Lost People by Margaret Elphinstone and Hazardous Spirits by Anbara Salam.

The first book of the year prize, sponsored by Creative Scotland, identifies rising stars as their talent continues to develop. This year it includes a memoir from war-torn Ukraine and a feminist reimagining of the Gunpowder Plot.

The books shortlisted are Fragile Animals by Genevieve Jagger, Remember, Remember by Elle Machray, The Old Haunts by Allan Radcliffe, Night Train To Odesa by Jen Stout and The Department Of Work And Pensions Assesses A Jade Fish by Nuala Watt.

Books by late writers Carl MacDougall and John Burnside are shortlisted in other categories.

Mairi Kidd, director of The Saltire Society, said: “This year’s shortlists showcase the dazzling variety of work coming out of Scotland today.

“There is an obvious poignancy in the presence of the last works of two – very different – writers who are no longer with us, but we are glad to pay tribute to them alongside so many other established and emergent voices.

“We very much hope that readers in Scotland and further afield will enjoy exploring the shortlists and will join us via livestream in November as we announce the winners, plus Scotland’s overall Book of the Year.”

The non-fiction book of the year shortlist comprises Thunderclap by Laura Cumming, The Unfamiliar: A Queer Motherhood Memoir by Kirsty Logan, Already Too Late by MacDougall, O Brother by John Niven and Ian Fleming: The Complete Man by Nicholas Shakespeare.

The works on the shortlist for poetry book of the year are QuickFire, Slow Burning by Janette Ayachi, Ruin, Blossom by Burnside, May Day by Jackie Kay, The Wrong Person To Ask by Marjorie Lotfi, Three Births by K Patrick and The Cat Prince: & Other Poems by Michael Pedersen.

The winner in each category will be announced on Thursday November 28, along with the overall book of the year and lifetime achievement award.

The awards are open to writers who originate from, or who are resident in, Scotland, or books substantially about the work or life of a Scot, a Scottish question, event, or situation.

The works shortlisted for research book of the year are Somhairle MacGill-Eathain na Bhriathran Fhein by Mairi Sine Campbell, Jo Macdonald and Ishbel Maclean, England’s Insular Imagining by Lorna Hutson, and The Afterlife Of Mary, Queen Of Scots by Steven J Reid.

Salt: Scotland’s Newest Oldest Industry, edited by Christopher A Whatley and Joanna Hambly, and Scotland’s Royal Women And European Literary Culture, 1424-1587 by Emily Wingfield are also in the running.