25 January 2012

International submissions sought for book prize of £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 2012 Dundee International Book Prize.

Now in its 8th year, the Prize is one of the UK's premier awards for new writers. The winner will receive £10,000 in cash and a publishing contract with Cargo Publishing.

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Prize is highly valued by new writers seeking to break into the publishing world, and writers are welcome to enter any unpublished novels on any theme, and in any genre.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

'Each year the job of judging gets more difficult as the reputation of the Dundee International Book Prize grows throughout the world, and I'm sure we will once again find ourselves agonising over having to choose just one winner from an impressive batch of 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."

Gill Tasker, Editor-in-Chief at Cargo, said, "Cargo are thrilled to be the publisher for the 2012 Dundee International Book Prize. Working with new writers has always been an important and integral element of Cargo, so we're really excited at the prospect of uncovering some new fantastic fiction. The prize presents an unrivalled opportunity for unpublished writers world-wide, so we expect a high standard of submissions.'

Will Dawson, Convener of City Development at Dundee City Council, said, "The Dundee, One City, Many Discoveries campaign is proud to support the Dundee International Book Prize. We have watched the prize go from strength to strength since its creation. An important thing to remember is that this Book Prize is now internationally recognised as the premier literary award in the UK, with a substantial prize and publishing deal."

Entries should be sent to bookprize@dundee.ac.uk and manuscripts must be accompanied by an entry form, which is available from www.dundeebookprize.com.

Entries must be prose, must be in English and can be in any genre (novels for children and young adults will not be considered). The first three chapters of each entry - or the first 60 pages - will be read in the first instance.

The closing date is 1st March 2012. Shortlisted authors only will be contacted by the organisers of the prize. The winner will be informed of their success in June and the book will be launched in published form in the autumn 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
MOBILE: 07854 953277