Issue 91 | December 2019
Scottish Publishing Industry News
Hello,

As is usual at the end of the year, it is a time for reflection and review. Our Annual Report gives an overview of what we and our members have been up to in 2019. But it is also a good time to look forward and there are plenty of festivals and events to get 2020 off to a great start. Read about them and other book, book people and prize news in this festive issue.

With Brexit looming, we are certainly in for a period of huge change. So this festive season we sincerely hope that everyone has a really enjoyable and replenishing break to set them up for the year ahead. And, not that any excuse is needed, be sure to treat yourself to a really good book or two!

Merry Christmas and all the best for 2020.

Andrew, Jess, Joan, Lucy, Marion and Vikki

Publishing Scotland
Saltire Society lifetime achievement award for Alasdair Gray
Influential and acclaimed author and artist Alasdair Gray was awarded the inaugural Saltire Society Scottish Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Scottish literature. Alasdair Gray wasn't able to attend the ceremony on 30 November and the following message was read out on his behalf.

"At the end of next month I will be 85 years old. I think it unlikely that I will write another work of fiction or play, and though I still have several paintings to complete, I doubt if I will sell many more. For this reason I am very grateful for the Saltire Society’s gift.”
Sandstone Press is the Saltire Society Publisher of the Year 2019
Cover of Celestial Bodies winner of the Man Booker International Prize 2019
Sandstone Press, based in Inverness, has become the first publisher to win the Saltire Society Publisher of the Year for a second time (they first won it in 2014). Sandstone has provided a platform for Scottish subjects and taken risks with translated fiction. The latter culminated this year in the award of the Man Booker International Prize to their translation of Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi, translated by Marilyn Booth from Arabic. Many congratulations to all involved.

404 Ink was highly commended. The other publishers shortlisted were: BHP Comics , Canongate Books and Charco Press .


Right: The cover of Celestial Bodies. Below left; Bob Davidson and Moira Forsyth with the 2019 Award. Bob is also shown on the right with the 2014 Award. Both photos are by Graham Clark.
Sandstone with 2019 and 2014 Publisher of the Year awards
Kay Farrell and Alan Windram win Emerging Publisher of the Year 2019
Kay Farrell of Sandstone Press and Alan Windram of Little Door Books were jointly awarded Saltire Society Emerging Publisher of the Year Award . Congratulations to both.

Jamie Norman of Canongate Books was Highly Commended. The other publishers shortlisted were: Pauline Cuchet, Canongate Books; Anne Glennie, Cranachan Publishing; and Richard Wainman, Floris Books.

Below: Alan Windram and Kay Farrell with their awards.. Both photos are by Graham Clark.
Saltire Literary Awards - books, book cover and pamphlet winners
Working Verse in Victorian Scotland: Poetry, Press, Community by Kirstie Blair (Oxford University Press) is the winner of the coveted Saltire Society Book of the Year award 2019. It also won Saltire Society Scottish Research Book of the Year. The winners were announced at a ceremony at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh on 30 November 2019.

The category winners were:

The winner of the inaugural award for Book Cover of the Year was The Wind That Lays Waste by Selva Almada designed by Pablo Font for Charco Press. Sam McDowell of Charco Press is pictured above right accepting the award on behalf of Pablo Font. Photo by Graham Clark.

The Calum Macdonald Memorial Award for the publisher of an outstanding example of pamphlet poetry published during the previous year was won Tapsalteerie for  Glisk  by Sarah Stewart. This Award is administered by the Scottish Poetry Library and it is the first time it has been presented as part of the Saltire Society Literary Awards.

Below: the covers of the winning books and pamphlet..
Book People News

ACAIR
The Scottish Gaelic Awards reward all aspects of the Gaelic language and culture across the length and breadth of the country. This year, the prize for the special contribution went to Acair, the publisher based on the Isle of Lewis. For more information, see the Scottish Gaelic Awards website .

THE BOOKSELLER 150
The Bookseller has published its list of 150 of the industry's top leaders, innovators and decision makers. It includes a number of industry figures with a Scottish connection: Jamie Byng, Canongate; Marion Sinclair, Publishing Scotland; Nick Barley, Edinburgh International Book Festival; Julie Danskin, Golden Hare Books and Damian Barr, writer and broadcaster. For the full list, see The Bookseller of 13 December 2019 or visit The Bookseller website .

THE LIST 100
The List did a top 20 this year along with categories including Books. Book people in the top 20 include authors Ali Smith, Nadine Aisha Jassat and Lucy Ellman. The Book category list is made up of BHP Comics, the Cymera Festival, Golden Hare Bookshop, Category Is, Eris Young, Jenni Fagan, Kirsty Logan, Noor Hemani, Chris McQueer, Kerry Hudson and Cat Hepburn. Sneaky Pete's topped the list with Jess Brough (Fringe of Colour) the runner up. For the whole 100 and more details, see The List website .

BOB DAVIDSON
The founder and Managing Director of Sandstone Press is the latest Scot to feature in 10 Things That Changed My Life in The National (15 December 2019) . The article also includes a picture of a young Bob in his rugby-playing days.

ROLAND GULLIVER
The Edinburgh International Book Festival has announced that following a highly successful 13-year tenure at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, Roland Gulliver is to leave his role as Associate Director in spring 2020 to take up an exciting new role which will be announced shortly. See the Edinburgh International Book Festival website .

SASHA DE BUYL
Most recently Manager of Scottish Books International, Sasha de Buyl will take up the position of Cúirt Director and Head of Literature with Galway Arts Centre, Sasha will join the team in the new year just in time for Galway 2020 Capital of Culture.

HODDER EDUCATION
Laura Borrelli has joined the Hodder Gibson family as the Commissioning Editor for TeeJay. She previously worked with Bright Red Publishing as a Development Editor.

SANDSTONE PRESS
Nicola Torch has joined Sandstone Press as a Publishing Assistant. She graduated with an English Literature degree from the University of St Andrews in 2018 and recently completed her MLitt in Publishing Studies at the University of Stirling. 

EDINBURGH UNIVERSITY PRESS
A year of change at EUP with Jan Thomson retiring as Head of Finance at the end of 2019. Her successor is Agnieszka Gacka. Two new members joined the Marketing team: Teri Williams as Journals Marketing Manager and Helena Heald as Marketing Assistant. Two Assistants - Kirsty Crosbie and Zuzana Ihnátová - were promoted to the role of Marketing Executive. Emma Rees, formerly Marketing Manager at EUP, took up a new position as Commissioning Editor for Islamic & Middle Eastern Studies.
Publishing Scotland annual report 2018 to 2019
Our annual report is a great round up of what we and our members have been up to over the past year. It covers everything from book fairs to training, members' highlights and financial information. This year it was designed by Alice Piotrowska, PhD Researcher at the University of Stirling. Have a look through the PDF version .
PS annual report 2019
Prizes, awards and listings
BLUE PETER BOOK AWARDS 2020 SHORTLIST
Owen and the Soldier by Lisa Thompson (author) and Mike Lowery (illustrator) (Barrington Stoke) is shortlisted for Best Story in the Blue Peter Book Awards 2020 . This is the first dyslexia-friendly title to be shortlisted for the prize.

THE SOCIETY OF AUTHORS TRANSLATION PRIZES 2020 SHORTLISTS
  • The Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize - Marilyn Booth has been shortlisted for a translation of Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi (Sandstone Press). Translated from Arabic.
  • The TA First Translation Prize - Ellen Jones and their editors Fionn Petch and Carolina Orloff for a translation of Trout, Belly Up by Rodrigo Fuentes (Charco Press). Translated from Spanish.
  • The Premio Valle-Inclán Prize - Charlotte Coombe for a translation of Fish Soup by Margarita García Robayo (Charco Press).
The winners will be announced on 20 February 2020. For the full shortlists and more details of the prizes, see The Society of Authors website .

JABUTI AWARD FOR BEST FOREIGN EDITION 2019
The English language edition of Resistance by Julián Fuks, translated by Daniel Hahn (Charco Press) won this prestigious prize in November. There's an interesting recent interview (6 December) with the Brazilian author on the CBC website .

CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL 2020 NOMINATIONS
Good Boy by Mal Peet (author) and Emma Shoard (illustrator) (Barrington Stoke) and An Illustrated Treasury of Scottish Castle Legends (Floris Books) by Theresa Breslin (author) and Kate Leiper (illustrator) are both nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal 2020. The shortlist will be announced in February 2020.

CILIP KATE GREENAWAY MEDAL 2020 NOMINATIONS
Barrington Stoke has five titles nominated
and Floris Books has one
The shortlist will be announced in February 2020.

INTERNATIONAL DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD 2020 LONGLIST
Resistance   by Julián Fuks (Charco Press), Hanuman's Travels by Andrei Ivanov (Vagabond Voices) and The Hoarder by Jess Kidd (Canongate Books) are among the titles longlisted. The shortlist will be announced in April 2020.

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL FIRST BOOK AWARD 2019
The Wind That Lays Waste by Argentinian writer Selva Almada has won the Edinburgh International Book Festival's 2019 First Book Award. The novel was translated into English by Chris Andrews and published by Edinburgh-based Charco Press. See the book festival's website for more information.

BOOKS ARE MY BAG READERS AWARDS 2019
The Flame by Leonard Cohen (Canongate Books) won the non-fiction category of the Books Are My Bag Readers Awards 2019 .

Below: the covers of some of the winning and listed books mentioned above.
British Book Awards deadline 7 February 2020
Publishers are reminded that the British Book Awards (The Nibbies) 2020 are open for entries until 7 February 2020. The award categories for publishers include: Academic, Educational & Professional Publisher of the Year; Children's Publisher of the Year; Independent Publisher of the Year; Marketing Strategy of the Year; Publicity Campaign of the Year; Small Press of the Year; Editor of the Year; and Rights Professional of the Year. For full details and to enter, see the BBA website.
Feeling Festive - Christmas Gifts
The latest full-to-bursting festive issue from BooksfromScotland is packed with great gift ideas for Christmas. Love fiction? Football? Film? Fashion? The great outdoors? Delicious recipes? Stunning coffee-table books? Don't worry, we've got you covered. So dive in, and we bet that soon you'll be crossing off everyone on your Christmas lists! And remember, whatever your literary indulgence, we hope you all have a fabulous festive break! 

Below: a crop of the cover of Wintering: A Season of Geese by Stephen Rutt which features in the Issue.
Crop from cover of Wintering
Publishing Scotland staff picks of books of the year
It's that time of year when everyone in the book industry gets asked for recommendations so the staff at Publishing Scotland not wishing to be left out have picked some of their favourites too! In no particular order we would recommend:
Let Me Tell You This by Nadine Aisha Jassat (404 Ink); Celestial Bodies  by Jokha Alharthi, translated by Marilyn Booth (Sandstone Press); Where are the Women by Sara Sheridan (Historic Environment Scotland); Tiger by Polly Clark (Quercus); A Proper Person to be Detained by Catherine Czerkawska (Saraband); The Way of All Flesh by Ambrose Parry (Canongate Books); and the Bridget Riley Exhibition Book (NGS Publishing).

Other round-ups of the year (and decade) if you are still short of inspiration include:
Book festivals (mainly)
Looking ahead to 2020, the start of the year sees some great festivals to look forward to including the new Paisley Book Festival in February.

BURNS AN A' THAT FESTIVAL (AYR): JANUARY
Burns hame toun runs events celebrating our national poet throughout January. In 2020 the showpiece event is Burns On The Beach on 24 January. It will celebrate the bard as well as the stunning coastline with an aerial light show, illuminated pier, poetry path and an immersive moving images experience at The Watchful boat. For full details, see the Burns An A' That Festival website .

BURNS AND BEYOND (EDINBURGH): 21 JANUARY TO 9 FEBRUARY
In 2020 Burns and Beyond joins forces with Edinburgh's Chinese New Year Festival. They will celebrate the special alignment of Burns Night and Chinese New Year 2020 on 25 January. For the packed programme, see the Burns & Beyond website .

FURTHER FROM (LINLITHGOW): 24 TO 26 JANUARY
West Lothian’s only literary festival is entering its fifth year and has a cracking line-up, tempting enough to tickle anyone’s tastebuds. Kevin P Gilday, Freeland Barbour, Gerda Stevenson, Jim Crumley, Andy Wightman, Trevor Royle, Sue Lawrence and Lari Don are among those taking part in events. The festival is organised by the Far From the Madding Crowd Bookshop. For full details and tickets, see the Far From the Madding Crowd website .

GRANITE NOIR CRIME WRITING FESTIVAL (ABERDEEN): 22 TO 24 FEBRUARY
Aberdeen's unique international writing festival returns with author conversations, talks, walks, workshops and exhibitions. For the programme and booking, see the Granite Noir website .

WINTER WORDS FESTIVAL (PITLOCHRY): 13 TO 16 FEBRUARY
Winter Words returns in February with an inspiring mix of star authors, talks, events and workshops for all ages, celebrating history, landscape, nature and people, with a strong focus on Scotland. Confirmed for the 2020 Festival line-up to date: Clare Hunter, Doddie Weir, Alistair Moffat, Esther Rutter. For details and to book, see the Pitlochry Festival Theatre website .

PAISLEY BOOK FESTIVAL: 20 TO 29 FEBRUARY
Paisley's inaugural Book Festival will take inspiration from the 200th anniversary of the Paisley Radicals as it reflects their spirit with a programme of grassroots activism, new ideas and political conversation. For full details and to book tickets, see the Paisley Book Festival website .

HOOKED (DUMFRIES): 22 FEBRUARY
Hooked is a day-festival for young adults who are passionate about literature and the arts. It is devised by Wigtown Festival Company’s young adult team and run in conjunction with The Stove Network. For full details and to book, see the Wigtown Book Festival website .

The Publishing Scotland website has a calendar of book festivals and other events .
JOBS, TRAINING AND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES

SCOTTISH LANGUAGES DICTIONARIES (EDINBURGH)
Managing Editor: apply by 5pm on Friday 3 January 2020.

SCOTTISH BOOK TRUST (EDINBURGH)
Writing Communities Co-ordinator (Live Literature): apply for this full-time, fixed-term position by 12pm on Tuesday 7 January 2020.

DUNCAN OF JORDANSTONE COLLEGE OF ART & DESIGN (DUNDEE)
Lecturer in Printmaking, Publishing & Editions: apply for this part-time post (0.75 FTE) by Friday 10 January 2020.

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL
Communities Programme Officer: a pply for this full-time, permanent position by 5pm on Monday 13 January 2020.

FLORIS BOOKS (EDINBURGH)
Office Manager and Bookkeeper: apply by 5pm on Friday 17 January 2020.

SCOTTISH POETRY LIBRARY (EDINBURGH)
Head Librarian: apply for this fixed-term position (to 31 March 2022) by noon on Wednesday 22 January 2020.

EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL BOOK FESTIVAL
Deputy Programme Director (Adults): a pply for this full-time, permanent position by 5pm on Thursday 23 January 2020.

For more details of these jobs, see the Publishing Scotland website .

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON FELLOWSHIP
Professional writers are invited to apply for a month-long writing retreat in France by noon on Wednesday 29 January 2020. See the Scottish Book Trust website .

AUTHOR INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL FUND
This fund has been established by Scottish Books International (SBI) to support writers who have been invited overseas to promote their work. Apply at any time throughout the year. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis while there is an available budget for the quarter. For full details, see the SBI website .

TRANSLATION FUND: APPLY BY 24 JANUARY
This fund is for non-UK publishers to translate Scottish books into other languages. For details and how to apply, s ee the Publishing Scotland website .

INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING FELLOWSHIP: APPLY BY 24 JANUARY
Publishing Scotland's International Publishing Fellowship runs in August every year. International publishers are invited to apply to be part of the 2020 cohort. See the Publishing Scotland website .
In case you missed it ...
SCOTTISH BOOK TRUST CHRISTMAS APPEAL
The appeal to raise funds for books and reading support for teen parents and their babies remains open until 6 January. Read more on the Scottish Book Trust website and donate £5 via Just Givin g.

LINGOS - DUO AND OTHERWISE
In this United Nations Year of Indigenous Languages both of Scotland's indigenous languages - Scots and Gaelic - were celebrated with events and initiatives. But a surprise boost was given to Gaelic when Duolingo launched its free learning programme on St Andrew's Day eight months ahead of schedule and as the result of 'superhuman effort' (read about it on the BBC website ). To join the 100,000+ Gaelic learners already registered, sign up on Duolingo . Also a new Scots Syntax Atlas has been launched by the University of Glasgow. Research discovered among other things the spread of 'youse' and 'gonnae no' from Glasgow outwards and that 'Are you remembering to get the keys' is common all over Scotland.

A FAIRYTALE OF LEITH
If you are looking for a literary pre-Christmas bash then on 20 December Neu Reekie! is hosting festive fun & frolics with a stocking full of Xmas Crackers: old friends & new; live music & DJs to bounce to; poetry & film; mulled Buckfast; & Secret Santas. Book on EventBrite .

AND FINALLY ...
Talking of fairytales, Stornoway replaces New York in a new version of one of the most-loved Christmas songs. If you want to sing along, the Evening News of 16 December has the lyrics.