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21 October 2011

Dundee International Book Prize - WINNER ANNOUNCED OCT 27TH

Press call - 2 pm, Bonar Hall, University of Dundee, embargoed for use to 6pm, 27/10/11

Announcement of winner. Photo/interview opportunities with winner and judges.

The winner of this year’s Dundee International Book prize and the £10,000 reward - the highest offered by any UK prize for unpublished authors - will be revealed on Thursday October 27th.

The winner will be revealed during the Dundee Literary Festival, hosted by the University of Dundee from October 24th to 30th. The prize is supported this year by Cargo Publishing.

A total of 120 writers submitted novels in the hope of winning the Prize, which also includes a publishing deal. Judges were left with the difficult task of narrowing the dozens of entries down to the top ten, which includes writers based locally, nationally and internationally.

Extracts of the top ten have been published online at www.literarydundee.co.uk/bookprize to allow book-lovers to pick their own favourites for the Prize, a collaboration between the University of Dundee, Cargo Publishing and Dundee City Council's 'One City, Many Discoveries' campaign.

The winner will be picked by a panel of judges made up of Anna Day, Director of Literary Dundee; Mark Buckland, Head of Cargo Publishing; and Emily Dewhurst of Kitchen Press.

The winner will be announced at a dinner on Thursday October 27th in front of an audience of industry experts, shortlisted writers and sponsors of the prize. They will also speak at the Dundee Literary Festival the following day.

Anna Day, Director of Literary Dundee - a University of Dundee-led initiative to promote interest in literature - said, 'Once again we have received well over 100 high quality entries from around the world and whittling them down to just 10 was far from easy.

'The shortlist reflects a wide variety of styles of writing from debut authors across the world - we received entries from France, USA, Canada, Australia, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Ukraine, Italy and Switzerland - and this demonstrates the esteem the Prize is held in, and how attractive an award it is.

'There are some fantastic stories in the top ten, and I’m sure people will enjoy reading extracts from them. It's going to be tricky to choose a winner but as always we're looking for a creative, innovative new voice who’s demonstrated their ability to create a real page-turner.'

The shortlist for the 2011 Dundee International Book Prize is:

  • As it was in the beginning by Rachel Newsome (London).
  • 14 variations from white by Emma Hooper (Bath).
  • Sympathy for the doc by Simon Ashe-Browne (Dublin).
  • No place to fall by Alissa Jones Nelson (Dundee).
  • The broken glass collector by Elizabeth Switaj (Belfast).
  • Pixelated by Lane Ashfeldt (London).
  • Touching cloth by Adrian Wiszniewski (Loch Winnoch).
  • Granmere's piano by Jay Weber (Arlington, USA).
  • The sacred combe by Thomas Maloney (Henley-on-Thames).
  • The Flax flower by Amanda MacLean (London).

Last year, Wigan author Alan Wight secured a publishing deal and the £10,000 prize for his debut novel, Act of Murder, a dramatic murder mystery set in his home town during Victorian times.

For more on the Dundee Literary Festival see: www.literarydundee.co.uk.


For media enquiries contact:
Roddy Isles
Head, Press Office
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384910
E-MAIL: r.isles@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07800 581902