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14 May 2013

'Bookers Dozen' make globe-spanning shortlist for 2013 Dundee International Book Prize

A 13-strong shortlist of authors has been announced for this year's Dundee International Book Prize.

With books set in Iran, South Africa, Romania, Japan, Puerto Rico, Dublin and Edinburgh (not to mention Heaven) and with authors coming from as far afield as Texas, Japan, and Belgium this year's shortlist is the most geographically diverse selection of novels to date.

A publishing deal with Cargo Publishing and £10,000 - the largest cash prize for unpublished work in the UK - is up for grabs. The lucky 13 authors have beaten off competition from more than 350 other entries to reach this stage. An anthology of extracts from all shortlisted entries is now available as a free eBook from Amazon or in hard copy format.

The stellar panel of judges - literary agent Clare Alexander, award-winning architect Sir Norman Foster, TV presenter and author Lorraine Kelly, COSTA prize-winning author A.L. Kennedy and Brian Cox, Hollywood actor and Dundee University rector - will now read and debate the merits of the shortlisted entries.

Their top title will be named as the ninth winner of the Book Prize, organised by the University of Dundee's Literary Dundee initiative, and the One City, Many Discoveries campaign.

Anna Day, Director of Literary Dundee, said, "Once again we have received an exceptional standard of entries and the process of narrowing them down to just 13 has been difficult enough.

"Getting that number down to a final three, and then to a single winner, will not be easy so I don't envy our judging panel in that regard. The quality of the novels that made our shortlist is incredible so I would encourage anyone to download their copy or pick one up from our office."

The shortlist for the 2013 Dundee International Book Prize is:

  • Light in the Blood (Nicholas Murgatroyd) - a literary mystery set at a writers retreat in Romania.
  • All Things End in Yes (Lily Barker) - the tale of a London food critic who discovers an Iranian carpet embroidered with cryptic messages.
  • Falling Fast (Neil Broadfoot) - a contemporary crime novel set in Edinburgh which uncovers the secrets and lies of an MSP at Holyrood.
  • A Brief Eternity (Paul Beaumont) - an immortal love story that finds non-believer Jerry caught up in the Rapture and headed for Heaven.
  • Beware of Men with Moustaches (Elizabeth Kay) - the tale of four poets trapped in a nightmare of Kafkaesque proportions.
  • Dog Mountain (Iain Maloney) - a magical realist thriller which takes the reader through the history and mythology of Japan.
  • The Society of Unexampled Brilliance (Paul Warnes) - a dysfunctional family reunion at a house in Cornwall after a violent attack on a young girl.
  • Kissing Trisha Six Times (Dandy McGregor) - a highly original novel of medical malpractice, witchcraft, S&M and insurance fraud.
  • In the Rosary Garden (Nicola White) - a grisly discovery in the grounds of a convent school in 1980s Dublin sparks a complicated case for the investigating detective.
  • Mango (Jeff Hayden) - a novel based on a true, and as of yet unsolved, murder case in 1950s Puerto Rico.
  • The Confession of Stella Moon (Shelley Day Sclater) - a dark, brooding tale of matricide and infanticide mixed with a touch of the supernatural.
  • The Killing Pool (Phillip Kurthausen) - a military lawyer's struggle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as he takes on a new case.
  • What to do with Lobsters in a Place Like Klippisfontein (Colette Victor) - an examination of racial tensions in a small, rural, conservative town in South Africa.

The eBook can be accessed by searching for 'Dundee International Book Prize' on Amazon, or in hard copy format from Literary Dundee, 6th Floor, Tower Building, University of Dundee.

The winner of last year's prize was New York-based author Jacob Appel, whose debut novel, 'The Man Who Wouldn't Stand Up', satirised politics, patriotism and the press in the United States post-9/11.

Mark Buckland, Head of Cargo Publishing, said, "After the great success of last year's winner 'The Man Who Wouldn't Stand Up', I'm really pleased that once again we have a diverse, exciting and eclectic shortlist that makes it tough for the judges to pick an overall winner."

Dundee City Council city development convener Councillor Will Dawson said, "I do not envy the judges who have the responsibility of choosing the ultimate winner. The increasing quality of the entries proves that the Dundee International Book Prize is gaining in stature to become a well recognised event in the literary calendar.

"I am pleased to see how the prize reflects the creativity of Dundee and underlines the strengths of our bid for UK City of Culture status."


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