21 December 2010

International field to once again compete for £10,000 and a publishing deal

Aspiring novelists will once more have the chance to get their work published and land a lucrative cash prize, with the launch of the Dundee International Book Prize 2011.

Now in its 7th year, the Prize is one of the UK's premier awards for new writers. The winner will see their novel published and will receive £10,000 in cash.

The Dundee International Book Prize is highly valued by new writers seeking to break into the publishing world, and writers are welcome to enter any unpublished novels on any theme, and in any genre.

The competition is a joint venture between the 'Dundee - One City, Many Discoveries' campaign and Literary Dundee. It is open to both local writers and authors from around the world.

Anna Day, Director of Literary Dundee, the University of Dundee-led initiative to promote interest in literature, said she was sure that would-be novelists would once again rise up to the challenge.

'Every year we receive a huge volume of high-quality manuscripts from across the globe,' she said. 'The job of judging gets more difficult as the reputation of the Dundee International Book Prize grows year-on-year, and I'm sure we will once again find ourselves trying to select a winner from a load of superb entries.

'Dundee is a city which embraces writers - A.L.Kennedy, born and bred in the city, Douglas Dunn, Kate Atkinson, John Burnside, Bill Duncan and Rosamunde Pilcher are amongst the 'glitterati' who have drawn on the City of Discovery for their inspiration over the last two decades. The Prize celebrates the thirst for literature that exists locally, and raises the cultural profile of the city internationally.'

Councillor Will Dawson, Convenor of City Development for Dundee City Council, said, 'The Dundee International Book Prize is a fantastic way of discovering new writing talent. Dundee is committed to supporting innovation, and the city is a hub of creativity. The Book Prize shows that Dundee is serious about recognising and celebrating new talent.'

Entries should be sent to literarydundee@gmail.com and manuscripts must be accompanied by an entry form, which is available from www.dundeebookprize.com, or by a separate word file, which states the author's name, address, and any previous publishing experience.

Entries must be prose, must be in English and can be in any genre. The first three chapters of each entry - or the first 60 pages - will be read in the first instance.

The closing date is 1st February, 2011. Shortlisted authors only will be contacted by the organisers of the prize. The winner will be informed of their success in May and the book will be launched in published form in November as part of the Dundee Literary Festival.

For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
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