This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Scottish Arts Council book awards
24/06/2004
Creative talent is flourishing in Scotland and its
contemporary writers continue to attract a world-wide
reputation for excellence, Frank McAveety said today.
Speaking after presenting the awards for the Scottish
Arts Council Book Oof TtheOf The Year, and Children's Book
of the Year, the Culture Minister praised the strength and
vitality of literature as a central part of to Scotland's
cultural life.
He said that we excel in this creative field and
increasingly our writers are applauded, and appreciated
and enjoyed around the world.
The Minister said:
"Scotland has a deserved reputation for producing
world-class writers and we believe we should celebrate the
wealth of creative talent that we have in Scotland.
"With the SAC Book Awards we recognise the talent we
have when writing fiction, poetry, literary non-fiction and
writing for children.
"Encouraging young people to read and be inspired by
writers is also important and that is why I am particularly
pleased that this year, for the first time, the judging
panel for the children's category includes four 'Junior
Judges', ranging from age nine to thirteen.
"I am also encouraged by the number of books that
demonstrate a confidence in the use of the Scots language
This illustrates the vitality and variety of writing in
Scotland."
Fife-based writer, James Robertson has won the 2004
Scottish Arts Council
Book of the Year Award, for his widely praised work
of historical fiction, Joseph Knight.
Elizabeth Laird, author of The Garbage King, has won
the 2004 Scottish Arts Council Children's Book of the Year
Award.
A total of £23,000 of prize money was awarded to writers
at the
ceremony. The winner of the top award - Scottish Arts
Council Book of the Year - received £10,000. The Scottish
Arts Council Children's Book of the Year winner received
£5,000 and the four short listed writers (2 in each
category) each received £2,000.
Six writers were shortlisted for this year's Scottish
Arts Council Book
of the Year Award. They are:
- James Robertson - Joseph Knight
- Elizabeth Laird - The Garbage King
- Anne Donovan - Buddha Da
- Tom Pow - Landscapes and Legacies
- Matthew Fitt - King o the Midden
- Nicola Morgan - Fleshmarket
The Judging Panel in 2004:
Andrew Crumey, writer and literary editor for Scotland
on Sunday (Chair) Sarah Morrison, Bookseller with Ottakars
Christopher Whyte, Novelist, Poet and Academic Marc
Lambert, Chief Executive of Scottish Book Trust Four
readers from Orange Chatterboxs library reading groups,
ranging in age from primary five to second year at
secondary school.
The Scottish Arts Council champions and sustains the
arts for Scotland,
investing £60 million from Scottish Executive and
National Lottery funding to support and develop artistic
excellence and creativity throughout Scotland. Further
information is available from the SAC website at
www.scottisharts.org.uk