The shortlists for James Tait Black Memorial prizes for non-fiction and biography have been announced yesterday.
The James Tait Black Memorial prizes were founded in 1919 by the widow of Edinburgh publisher James Tait Black. The book award is also quite unique as it is the only one that is judged by scholars and graduate students of literature. The literature graduate students assist in compiling the shortlists by writing reports on the books submitted. The prize advisory committees will then decide on the awards. The awards are hosted by the literature department of the Edinburgh University.
The shortlists are as follows:
Fiction shortlist
Our Horses in Egypt by Rosalind Belben (Call No.: English BEL)
The Devil’s Footprints by John Burnside
The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid (Call No.: English HAM)
A Far Country by Daniel Mason (Call No.: English MAS)
Salvage by Gee WilliamsBiography shortlist
Hand Me My Travelin’ Shoes: In Search of Blind Willie McTell by Michael Gray (Call No.: English 782.421643092 GRA-[ART])
God’s Architect: Pugin and the Building of Romantic Britain by Rosemary Hill (Call No.: English 720.92 HIL)
Edith Wharton by Hermione Lee (Call No.: English 813.52 LEE)
Young Stalin by Simon Sebag Montefiore
John Stuart Mill: Victorian Firebrand by Richard Reeves
The prizes will be awarded in August at a ceremony at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.
Last year’s winners were Cormac McCarthy for The Road (Call No.: English MAC) and Byron Rogers for The Man Who Went into the West: The Life of RS Thomas. Some other past winners include DH Lawrence, LM Forster, Graham Greene, Salman Rushdie, Ian McEwan, and Zadie Smith.