'Triple Point of Water' wins Dundee International Book Prize 2007

French resident and unpublished author Fiona Dunscombe has won of The Dundee International Book Prize 2007 for her book 'The Triple Point of Water'.

The English woman now living in France accepted the accolade, one of the UK's major awards for previously unpublished work, with a cash prize of £10,000 and publication by Birlinn Ltd, publishers of the Polygon imprint.

Fiona who lives near Montpellier in the south of France has worked as a recruitment consultant, radio producer and as a stripper. She has an MA in Contemporary Literature and is a member of Lumineuse, a writers group made up of English women living in France. She is currently working on a second novel, 'Inheriting Silence', and a non-fictional blog on running and children with diabetes.

It was a French friend, a specialist in Scottish Literature, who told Fiona about the Dundee International Book prize. On receiving the good news she was shortlisted Fiona wore her tartan hat for the rest of the day to wish herself luck.

Run bi-annually the prize added 'International' to its title for the 2007 award to reflect the increasing number of entries from outside the UK. Manuscripts were received from throughout Scotland and the UK, and from as far afield as USA, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, New Zealand, Guernsey, France and Nigeria.

The Principal, Sir Alan Langlands, said, "Scotland's vibrant literary scene is held in international regard and the prize is making a unique and important contribution. Over recent years Dundee has made a powerful impact on contemporary writing. The University has developed a number of new courses in this area to support and encourage literary activity and we are proud to be partners in the Dundee International Book Prize."

The winner was selected from a shortlist of 10 unpublished novels by a panel of independent judges.

Leading broadcasters and authors James Naughtie and Carl MacDougall chaired this year's independent judging panel. Mr Naughtie currently presents the BBC Radio 4 Bookclub programme on the first Sunday of each month and has previously served as a judge for the Whitbread Book Awards. Carl MacDougall a former chief fiction reviewer for The Herald and three time prize winning novelist recently wrote and presented Writing Scotland, which was broadcast on BBC2 Scotland in 2004.