Kieron Smith, boy is declared 2009 Scottish Book of the Year
19/06/2009
Acclaimed writer James Kelman has won Book of the Year 2009 in the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards for his novel Kieron Smith, boy. Managed by the Scottish Arts Council, the awards are Scotland’s richest book awards and net the author a total prize of £30,000.
The winning title was announced today (Friday 19 June) at a prestigious ceremony at Borders Book Festival in Melrose, hosted by writer and comedian Rory Bremner.
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Commenting on his award James Kelman said:
‘There are good writers working in this country and it is an honour to be awarded the SMIT-SAC Book of the Year 2009. Like most other artists I'm self-employed. Awards and prizes are generally for work that we have produced. This allows us to develop new projects, produce future work. That is their value and no one should underestimate how important that can be.’ |
The top prize has increased this year to £30,000 thanks to a new sponsorship arrangement with Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust. Presenting this year’s award Sir Donald MacKay, Chairman of Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust said:
‘Scottish Mortgage is delighted to be sponsoring what is now one of the most important book awards in the UK. Although 2009 is the first year of Scottish Mortgage’s involvement with these awards it marks the 100th year of the company’s existence and in James Kelman we have a worthy overall winner.’
Kelman’s novel, Kieron Smith, boy, charts the life of a young boy in post war Glasgow as his family moves from a traditional tenement to a new housing scheme on the outskirts of the city. The book, which was described as a ‘masterpiece’ by the judging panel, initially won in the fiction category and saw off strong competition from fellow category winners Janice Galloway (Non Fiction), Tom Pow (Poetry) and First Book winner Andrea McNicoll who were each presented with a cheque for £5000 at the awards ceremony.
Commenting on the winning title Awards Judge Pat Kane said:
‘James Kelman's fiction is completely committed to the project of articulating the complex inner voices of the under-voiced and disregarded. By this light, Kieron Smith, boy is his masterpiece: the social convulsions of post-war Glasgow refracted through the resilient, inventive, tireless consciousness of a scheme boy. A stunning and moving achievement.’
Fellow Judge Lilias Fraser added:
‘Kieron Smith’s devastating story, and the art of its telling, are truly the performance of a lifetime. But oh, what a shortlist to choose from: in one year, Tom Pow’s grippingly beautiful collection Dear Alice, Andrea McNicoll’s moving, subtle debut Moonshine in the Morning, and Janice Galloway’s heartstopping memoir This is Not About Me.’
In all over 100 titles by Scottish or Scottish- based authors were reviewed by the judging panel. Commenting on the overall judging process Alan Riach added:
‘The process of judging was an increasingly intense series of mind-blasting, intricately sensitive and robust conversations about the things only literature, great writing, can do. It was a journey in good company, a deepening exploration of these very different books, delighting in their contrasts, and finally, gladly arriving at agreement.’
The renamed Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards are the next evolution of the Scottish Arts Council Book Awards which were first introduced in the 1970s. The generous sponsorship by Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust represents a long term sponsorship commitment and celebrates the Trust’s Centenary year in 2009. Dr Gavin Wallace, head of Literature at Scottish Arts Council and Chair of the Judging Panel stated’
‘Thanks to the great generosity of our sponsor, which makes these prizes the largest of their kind in Scotland, we can at last begin to match truly the great maturity and stature of our literary culture, for that is precisely what these four magnificent books represent. They are all, in their different ways, major literary achievements, by any standards’.
Jim Tough, Chief Executive at the Scottish Arts Council added:
‘the Scottish Arts Council is committed to supporting artists and increasing participation in the arts. The Book Awards are not only a celebration of the best contemporary Scottish literary talent they are also a celebration of reading especially as it is being held again at the Borders Book Festival, one of a growing number of exciting book festivals across the country. I congratulate the winners and thank the Judges for their sterling work.’
Minister for Culture Michael Russell said:
‘James Kelman is one of Scotland’s most influential writers and a worthy winner of Book of the Year 2009. The Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards celebrate the best of Scottish writing and I am pleased to be involved in the ceremony at the Borders Book Festival to honour Scotland’s great literary achievements. All of this year’s winners are a credit to our nation and demonstrate the strength of the creative talent that exists across all genres of Scottish literature.’
For more information on the awards visit: www.scottisharts.org.uk/bookawards.
Notes to editors1. This year’s judging panel comprised of: Professor Alan Riach, poet and Head of the Department of Scottish Literature at the University of Glasgow; Lilias Fraser, Reader Development Officer at the Scottish Poetry Library; Pat Kane, writer, musician, consultant and blogger; and Dr Gavin Wallace, Head of Literature at the Scottish Arts Council, who chairs the panel in a non-voting capacity.
2. The renamed Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Awards are the next evolution of the Scottish Arts Council Book Awards which were first introduced in the 1970s. The generous sponsorship by Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust represents a long term sponsorship commitment and celebrates the Trust’s Centenary year in 2009.
3. Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust is one of the oldest and largest investment trusts listed on the London Stock Exchange. The company has been managed by Scotland’s leading independent fund manager Baillie Gifford since its launch in 1909. It started life providing mortgages to the owners of rubber plantations in Malaya seeking to profit from the advent of the mass produced motor car. Today Scottish Mortgage invests on a global basis and looks to reward its investors by searching out strong companies which offer above average returns to their shareholders. As at 31/12/08 Scottish Mortgage had total assets of £1475m.
4. The Scottish Arts Council is a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) which was established by Royal Charter in 1994 and is also a Lottery distributor. The organisation serves the people of Scotland by fostering arts of excellence through investment, development, research and advocacy. Our corporate aims are: to support artists to fulfil their creative and business potential; to increase participation in the arts; and to place the arts, culture and creativity at the heart of learning. We invest £60m each year, including £15 million of National Lottery funding.
Contact email(s)
media.office@scottisharts.org.uk
Issued by: Scottish Arts Council
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