Gaelic Literature Awards 2020 open for submissions
6 March 2020
The Gaelic Books Council has announced the launch of The Gaelic
Literature Awards 2020.
Publishers and writers are invited to submit Scottish Gaelic
books published between 1st May 2019 and 30th April 2020 for
consideration in four categories - fiction, non-fiction, poetry and
children's books - as well as manuscripts for children's or adult
books as yet unpublished at the competition closing date.
Following ten years of the Donald Meek Award, established in
2010 with financial assistance from Creative Scotland and Bòrd na
Gàidhlig to encourage and support new and established Gaelic
writers and original Gaelic writing, the categories in the freshly
launched Gaelic Literature Awards reflect the evolution of Gaelic
publishing during that period, and aim to reward excellence in
Gaelic writing and publishing across a range of genres.
The Donald Meek Award will now be presented to the best
non-fiction title published in the past year. Among the other
prizes on offer will be an award in memory of Derick Thomson, first
Chair of the Gaelic Books Council, for the best poetry publication.
There will also be an opportunity for the author of the best
unpublished original children's manuscript to secure a publishing
contract with Acair Books.
Alison Lang, Director of the Gaelic Books Council, said:
"With Derick Thomson's centenary approaching, we felt it would
be appropriate to establish a new award in his memory for a poetry
publication. We are delighted that Donald Meek, who has always been
a friend and supporter of the Gaelic Books Council, is willing to
have the award in his name included among the new array of prizes,
and we are also grateful to Acair Books for agreeing to work with
the author of the best children's manuscript. We hope that by
offering awards for both published and unpublished literature we
will be able to not only celebrate the best Gaelic books of the
past year, but also encourage original writing, particularly in
underrepresented genres, and that this new approach will attract
significant interest from publishers, writers and readers."
The 2019 Donald Meek Award was presented to John Urquhart for
his poetry collection, Turas, with the second prize going to Myles
Campbell for Gràs, and the third prize to Morag Ann MacNeil for
Artair sa Chaisteal. The winners of the 2020 Gaelic Literature
Awards will be announced on 17th September at Cottiers Theatre,
Glasgow, for the following categories:
Published books:
Fiction, Non-fiction (Donald Meek Award), Poetry (Derick Thomson
Award), Books for children or young people
Unpublished manuscripts:
Books for children or young people, Books for adults
Before sending submissions, applicants should consult the full
competition guidelines. The shortlists will be announced in August
2020.
Further information about the Gaelic Literature Awards 2020 is
available on the Gaelic Books Council website www.gaelicbooks.org or contact Alison Lang,
Director of the Gaelic Books Council alison@gaelicbooks.org. Entries must be
received by 5.00pm on Friday 1st May 2020.