Scotland's National Book Awards
Scotland's National Book Awards, formerly known as the Saltire Society Literary Awards, are made annually by the Saltire Society. First awarded in 1937, they are awarded for books by Scottish authors or about Scotland, and are awarded in several categories.
History
The first Saltire Society Book Award was given in 1937, the year after the Saltire Society was established. No awards were given after 1939 due to the Second World War, and the next award was made 1956. The History Book of the Year award was inaugurated in 1965. In 1982 sponsorship was obtained and since then the awards have been made annually. First books have been recognised since 1988, and in 1998 the award for Scottish Research Book of the Year was established.Until around 2021, the awards were known as the Saltire Society Literary Awards, subtitled Scotland's National Book Awards, but then took on the subtitle as the name covering all of the literary awards that the society awards: Scotland's National Book Awards, and are known by this name as of 2023.
Description
The awards seek to recognise books which are either by "living authors of Scottish descent or residing in Scotland," or which deal with "the work or life of a Scot or with a Scottish question, event or situation"., the winner in each category receives an award created by artist Simon Baker of Evergreen Studios, based in Inverness; the winners of each literary award receive a cash prize of £2,000, while the winner of the Saltire Society Book of the Year is given a further £4,000.
Categories
A one-off Homecoming Book of the Year award was made in 2009 to celebrate the "Year of homecoming": the award was presented to American professor Donald Worster for his biography of John Muir, A Passion for Nature. The shortlist consisted of The Bard: Robert Burns, A Biography, by Robert Crawford, The Testament of Cresseid and Seven Fables, by Seamus Heaney, The Lamplighter, by Jackie Kay and Piano Angel, by Esther Woolfson.In 2014, the Scottish Literary Book of the Year was awarded, but was replaced after only one year by separate awards for Fiction Book of the Year and Non-Fiction Book of the Year
, the Saltire Society presents awards in seven categories for books, and three awards for publishers:
- Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award
- Saltire Society First Book of the Year
- Saltire Society History Book of the Year
- Saltire Society Research Book of the Year
- Saltire Society Poetry Book of the Year
- Saltire Society Fiction Book of the Year
- Saltire Society Non-Fiction Book of the Year
- Saltire Society Book Cover Design of the Year
- Saltire Society Publisher of the Year
- Saltire Society Emerging Publisher of the Year
Subsequent winners of the lifetime achievement have been:
In addition, an annual student travel bursary is awarded to a creative writing graduate, and the Ross Roy Medal is awarded for the best PhD thesis on a subject related to Scottish literature.
Past winners
Scottish Book of the Year
The Scottish Book of the Year award was established in 1937, and has been given annually since 1982. The award is open to novels, poetry and plays as well as non-fiction works on Scottish subjects.| Year | Work | Author | Result | Ref |
| 2012 | Mo Said She Was Quirky | James Kelman | Winner | |
| 2012 | Sightlines | Kathleen Jamie | Shortlist | |
| 2012 | The Bees | Carol Ann Duffy | Shortlist | |
| 2012 | Deanamh Gaire ris a’ Chloc | Aonghas MacNeacail | Shortlist | |
| 2012 | Tales From The Mall | Ewan Morrison | Shortlist | |
| 2012 | Deadman's Pedal | Alan Warner | Shortlist | |
| 2012 | Skagboys | Irvine Welsh | Shortlist | |
| 2013 | Something Like Happy | John Burnside | Winner | |
| 2013 | Life After Life | Kate Atkinson | Shortlist | |
| 2013 | The Professor Of Truth | James Robertson | Shortlist | |
| 2013 | Empire Antractica | Gavin Francis | Shortlist | |
| 2013 | Mairi Dhall agus Sgeulachdan | Donnchadh Macgilliosa | Shortlist | |
| 2013 | Looking For Mrs Livingstone | Julie Davidson | Shortlist | |
| 2013 | Artful | Ali Smith | Shortlist |
Scottish Literary Book of the Year
The award for Literary Book of the Year was introduced in 2014, and was open to fiction, non-fiction or plays.The award only existed for one year before being replaced by separate awards for Fiction and Non-Fiction| Year | Work | Author | Result | Ref |
| 2014 | How to Be Both | Ali Smith | Winner | |
| 2014 | All the Rage | A L Kennedy | Shortlist | |
| 2014 | Gone Are the Leaves | Anne Donovan | Shortlist | |
| 2014 | Where Memories Go | Sally Magnusson | Shortlist | |
| 2014 | Cala Bendita | Martin MacIntyre | Shortlist | |
| 2014 | The James Plays | Rona Munro | Shortlist |
Scottish Fiction Book of the Year
The fiction book of the year award was inaugurated in 2015.Scottish First Book of the Year
The first book of the year award was inaugurated in 1988 and recognises an author who has not previously published a book. As with the book of the year, the award is open to novels, plays, poems and non-fiction. After 2006, books shortlisted for the award were listed alongside the winner.| Year | Work | Author | Ref |
| 1988 | The Richt Noise | Raymond Vettese | |
| 1989 | Cells of Knowledge | Sian Hayton | |
| 1990 | The Ballad of Sawney Bain | Harry Tait | |
| 1991 | Night Geometry and the Garscadden Trains | A. L. Kennedy | |
| 1992 | Adoption Papers | Jackie Kay | |
| 1992 | Uirsgeul/Myth | Christopher Whyte | |
| 1993 | Robert Louis Stevenson: Dreams of Exile | Ian Bell | |
| 1994 | Music, in a Foreign Language | Andrew Crumey | |
| 1995 | Free Love and Other Stories | Ali Smith | |
| 1996 | Slattern | Kate Clanchy | |
| 1997 | A Painted Field | Robin Robertson | |
| 1998 | The Pied Piper's Poison | Christopher Wallace | |
| 1998 | Two Clocks Ticking | Dennis O'Donnell | |
| 1999 | Some Rain Must Fall | Michel Faber | |
| 2000 | The Rising Sun | Douglas Galbraith | |
| 2001 | In the Blue House | Meaghan Delahunt | |
| 2002 | Burns the Radical | Liam McIlvanney | |
| 2002 | The Cutting Room | Louise Welsh | |
| 2003 | Ath – Aithne | Martainn Mac an t-Saoir | |
| 2004 | Stargazing: Memoirs of a Young Lighthouse Keeper | Peter Hill | |
| 2005 | Amande's Bed | John Aberdein | |
| 2006 | George Mackay Brown: The Life | Maggie Fergusson |
Scottish Non-Fiction Book of the Year
The award for Non-Fiction Book of the Year was introduced in 2015Scottish Poetry Book of the Year
The award for Poetry Book of the Year was introduced in 2014.Scottish History Book of the Year
The award for History Book of the Year was established in 1965 in honour of the historian Agnes Mure Mackenzie. It was only awarded intermittently until 1994 when it became an annual award.Scottish Research Book of the Year
This award was initiated in 1998, and is made jointly by the Saltire Society and the National Library of Scotland. It aims to recognise books which "represent a significant body of research and offer new insight or dimension to the subject".| Year | Work | Author | Ref |
| 1998 | The Edinburgh History of the Scots Language | Charles Jones | |
| 1999 | The Poems of William Dunbar | Priscilla Bawcutt | |
| 2000 | Jessie Kesson: Writing her Life | Isobel Murray | |
| 2000 | The Highland Pipe and Scottish Society | William Donaldson | |
| 2001 | The Scottish Book Trade 1500−''1720 | Alastair J. Mann | |
| 2002 | Sorley MacLean, Poems to Eimhir | Christopher Whyte | |
| 2002 | Public Sculpture of Glasgow | Ray McKenzie | |
| 2003 | The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection | Emily B. Lyle and Katherine Campbell | |
| 2004 | The Last of England? | Randall Stevenson | |
| 2004 | Maritime Enterprise and Empire: Sir William MacKinnon and his Business Network 1823–1893 | J. Forbes Munro | |
| 2005 | Weights and Measures in Scotland | R. D. Connor and A. D. C. Simpson, edited by Alison Morrison-Low | |
| 2006 | Dùthchas Nan Gàidheal: Selected Essays of John MacInnes | Michael Newton | |
| 2007 | Scotland's Books: The Penguin History of Scottish Literature'' | Robert Crawford |