Leila Aboulela makes Saltire Awards 2019 shortlist

Award-winning Sudanese writer Leila Aboulela has made the Saltire Literary Awards 2019 shortlist for her book, ‘Bird Summons,’ in the fiction book of the year category. Others on the list include Lucy Ellmann, for ‘Ducks, Newburyport,’ Ruairidh MacIlleathain (Roddy MacLean), ‘Còig Duilleagan na Seamraig’ (‘Five Leaves of the Shamrock’), Ewan Morrison, ‘Nina X,’ Polly Clark, […]

Award-winning Sudanese writer Leila Aboulela has made the Saltire Literary Awards 2019 shortlist for her book, ‘Bird Summons,’ in the fiction book of the year category.

Others on the list include Lucy Ellmann, for ‘Ducks, Newburyport,’ Ruairidh MacIlleathain (Roddy MacLean), ‘Còig Duilleagan na Seamraig’ (‘Five Leaves of the Shamrock’), Ewan Morrison, ‘Nina X,’ Polly Clark, ‘Tiger,’ and Damian Barr, ‘You Will Be Safe Here.’

The awards recognise work across six literary categories, namely fiction, non-fiction, research, history, poetry, and first book. Also, two publishing categories, publisher and emerging publisher, as well as the Calum MacDonald Memorial Award.

The winner of each book award receives a cash prize of £2,000 and go on to be considered for the top prize of Saltire Scottish Book of the Year, receiving a further £5,000.

Sarah Mason, programme director at the Saltire Society, said: “We are proud of the fact that the Saltire Literary Awards shortlists celebrate the diversity, quality and richness of books to come from Scotland over the past year. The Saltire Literary Awards have a proud history of recognising excellence and bringing this to wider attention and we congratulate the writers and publishers who have been shortlisted this year.”

The winners of all the awards will be announced at a ceremony in Edinburgh, Scotland on November 30, 2018.