Award trumpets talents and itself

Scotland's biggest book award could launch the careers of another five new writers, claim the organisers of Dundee Book Prize, who announce their shortlist of five books today.

Publishers Polygon are so encouraged by the comments from the award's prestigious judging panel that they are considering each of the newly shortlisted books for publication.

The City of Discovery Campaign and the University of Dundee, who back the £6000 award, think with the Prize already having spawned five new books in its inaugural term, Dundee is on course to boost its own mini literary renaissance.

Mervyn Rolfe, chair of Dundee's image building initiative the City of Discovery Campaign, believes the award is fulfilling its aim to encourage new writing talent and promote Dundee as a rich vein of material.

Mr Rolfe said: "This is very encouraging news and while there can be only one winner we'll be working closely with Polygon to help the other writers realise their potential."

Since Tumulus by Andrew Murray Scott scooped the inaugural award in 1999, more than 20 books either based in the city or by authors connected to Dundee have found their way on to book shop shelves.

Don Paterson, writer and 2002 judge, hopes the new shortlist will augment the growing list of books borne of, what he believes, is a much-needed incentive for aspiring authors.

Carol Pope believes Dundee is fast becoming a vibrant literary city with an inordinate number of new 'Dundee' books rolling off the presses and into book shops in a relatively short period of time.

She said: "There's no doubt Dundee is a diamond as far as writers are concerned - eternally offering new facets to the light, from the cutting edge of biotechnology to whaling, from medieval witchcraft to the contemporary urban. The city seems to have triggered a response in a range of writers - well established professionals as well as the tyros entering for the prize. It's fascinating to see that so many entrants have chosen to set their books in Dundee even though that was not a stipulation of the prize this time around. Dundee is living up to its name as City of Discovery in a most unexpected way - facilitating the discovery of new writing talent and helping writers and readers, discover hidden aspects of the city."

Hilary Mantel, award-winning writer and former Booker Prize judge, will announce the winner of DBP 2002 at an awards lunch at Dundee Contemporary Arts on Wednesday, April 10.

The organisers hope that all five of the shortlisted authors - one of whom hails from Canada - will make it to the event. Their identities remain anonymous until the judging process is complete.

Notes to Editors:

• The five shortlisted works are:(with judges' comments)
• Three West 56 North - A true Dundee novel based on the life of the city in different locations over a day. Excellent concept.
• I am Grisell Jaffray - Very powerful story of witchcraft and healing powers with a real sense of the dark and brooding. Set in 16th century Dundee and based on a true story. Highly atmospheric.
• Gifts - A highly original experimental book on natural wildlife in Dundee, compelling in its empathy; strange, charming, intelligent. Set in Dundee and in Dundee dialect exploring birds, weather, landscape, squirrels
• Seton her Anatomy - Don Paterson describes it as "engagingly deranged; [delete a ] high quality writing; a very original and eccentric approach..not a normal novel."
• The Fountain - Historical and contemporary timelines are interwoven in this tale of a retired Canadian schoolteacher who travels to Florida in parallel with the last of the conquistadores. Kasia Boddy describes it as "compelling, well contructed and illuminating."

NB All books are judged anonymously.

• Dundee Book Prize, a joint initiative between the City of Discovery Campaign and the University of Dundee, was launched in 1997 with the aim of promoting new writing talent.
• The inaugural competition, offered £6K for a book set in Dundee and publication with Polygon. The winner was Dundee lecturer Andrew Murray Scott for Tumulus.
• Such was the quality of writing in the first term that an unofficial second prize of £2K was hastily convened and awarded to marketing professional Stewart Hutchison of North Queensferry for Beneath the Law.
• It is estimated that more than 20 books either set in the city or written by an author with strong connections to Dundee have been published since 1999. These include; Kate Atkinson - Emotionally Weird; AL Kennedy - Everything You Need; Mathew Fitt - But n Ben a Go Go; Bill Duncan - The Smiling School for Calvinists; David Aitken - Sleeping with Jane Austen; Rosamunde Pilcher - Winter Solstice; WN Herbert - Strong Words, John Burnside, The Mercy Boys
• 63 entries from all over the UK and countries including Canada, the United Arab Emirates, Spain and Brazil were received for the second and current term.
• When launching the second term in 2001, the organisers set the theme of `discovery' in recognition of the centenary of Captain Scott's epic voyage to the then unknown continent of Antartica on the RRS Discovery.
• Current judges are Don Paterson, poet, playwright and muscian; Marion Sinclair, fiction consultant with Polygon and Kasia Boddy, a specialist in contemporary writing with University College London.
• The mini literary renaissance is part of a wider cultural confidence in Dundee - a city that boasts one of Europe's finest contemporary art centres (DCA) a theatre (Dundee Rep) with the only full time ensemble of actors in Scotland and a new dance college (The Space) where students can complete a full time course in contemporary dance - the only course of its kind in Scotland.