James Tait Black Memorial Prize
The James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are literary prizes awarded for literature written in the English language. They, along with the Hawthornden Prize, are Britain's oldest literary awards.[1] Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, United Kingdom, the prizes were founded in 1919 by Mrs Janet Coats Black in memory of her late husband,[2] James Tait Black, a partner in the publishing house of A & C Black Ltd.[3] Prizes are awarded in three categories: Fiction, Biography and Drama.
History
From inception, the James Tait Black prize was organised without overt publicity. There was a lack of press and publisher attention, initially at least, because Edinburgh was distant from the literary centres of the country. The decision on the award would be made by the Regius Chair of Rhetoric and Belles Lettres at the University of Edinburgh.[1]
Four winners of the Nobel Prize in Literature received the James Tait Black earlier in their careers: William Golding, Nadine Gordimer and J. M. Coetzee each collected the James Tait Black for fiction, whilst Doris Lessing took the prize for biography. In addition to these literary Nobels, Sir Ronald Ross, whose 1923 autobiography Memoirs, Etc. received the biography prize, was already a Nobel Laureate, having been awarded the 1902 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on malaria.[4]
In 2012, a third prize category was announced for Drama, with the first winner of this award announced in August 2013.[3]
Selection process and prize administration
The winners are chosen by the Professor of English Literature at the University, who is assisted by postgraduate students in the shortlisting phase, a structure which is seen to lend the prizes a considerable gravitas. At the award of the 2006 prizes, Cormac McCarthy's publisher commented positively on the selection process noting that, in the absence of a sponsor and literary or media figures amongst the judging panel, the decision is made by "...students and professors, whose only real agenda can be great books and great writing".[5] The original endowment is now supplemented by the University and, as a consequence, the total prize fund rose from £6,000 to £20,000 for the 2005 awards.[6] This increase made the two annual prizes, one for fiction and the other for biography, the largest literary prizes on offer in Scotland.[7] The annual prize for drama is worth £10,000.[3] The University is advised in relation to the development and administration of the Prize by a small committee which includes Ian Rankin, Alexander McCall Smith and James Naughtie amongst its members. In August 2007 the prize ceremony was held at the Edinburgh International Book Festival for the first time.[8]
Eligibility
Only those works of fiction and biographies written in English and first published in Britain in the 12-month period prior to the submission date are eligible for the award. Both prizes may go to the same author, but neither prize can be awarded to the same author on more than one occasion. For the drama category, the work should have been written in English, Gaelic or Welsh, and performed by a professional theatre company in the 12-month period prior to the submission date.
List of recipients
Source.[9]
Best of the James Tait Black (2012)
In 2012, a special prize was given called the 'Best of the James Tait Black' (in addition to the normal prize for that year).[23][24] The award celebrated the fiction winners over the past 93 years, as part of the 250th anniversary of the study of English Literature at the University. A shortlist of six previous winners competed for the title of Best. A judging panel of celebrity alumni and writers decided on the winner announced on 6 December 2012 as Angela Carter's Nights at the Circus.[25]
- Angela Carter, Nights at the Circus (1984) [25]
- Graham Greene, The Heart of the Matter (1948)
- James Kelman, A Disaffection (1989)
- Cormac McCarthy, The Road (2006)
- Caryl Phillips, Crossing the River (1993)
- Muriel Spark, The Mandelbaum Gate (1965)
Notes
- ^ a b Brian W. Shaffer (2008). A Companion to the British and Irish Novel 1945 - 2000. John Wiley & Sons. p. 164. ISBN 978-1-4051-5616-5. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
- ^ https://textline.wordpress.com/2009/08/19/in-memory-of-janet-coats-90th-anniversary-of-scotlands-oldest-literary-prize/
- ^ a b c d e f Iona McLaren (August 24, 2013). "Winners announced of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize 2013". The Telegraph. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
- ^ Mary E. Gibson (August 1978). "Sir Ronald Ross and his contemporaries" (PDF). J. Royal Society of Medicine. 71: 611–612. PMC 1436581. PMID 20894263. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
- ^ "Video report of the James Tait Black Prize ceremony, August 2007". University of Edinburgh. August 27, 2007.
- ^ "University boosts James Tait Black Prizes". University of Edinburgh. November 28, 2005.
- ^ Pauli, Michelle (May 2, 2006). "Ali Smith hits the shortlists again". London: The Guardian. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- ^ "James Tait Black Memorial Prize Ceremony". The University of Edinburgh. June 8, 2007.
- ^ "Previous winners". James Tait Black Memorial Prize website. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
- ^ Scholarly revision of Buchan's earlier "The Marquis of Montrose" (1913)
- ^ Biography of the explorer John Talbot Clifton (1868-1928), father of Harry Clifton (Henry Talbot de Vere Clifton, dedicatee of W.B. Yeats' poem Lapis Lazuli)
- ^ Includes studies of antiquaries including Elias Ashmole, William Dugdale, Thomas Hearne, George Hickes, Thomas Madox, John Nalson, Edward Thwaites and Humfrey Wanley
- ^ a b John Ezard (June 8, 2006). "A prize, at last, for McEwan novel". The Guardian. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
- ^ a b "New winners for oldest book prize". BBC News. August 22, 2008. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
- ^ a b Alison Flood (August 21, 2009). "Michael Holroyd wins James Tait Black prize 42 years after his wife". The Guardian.
- ^ a b "AS Byatt and John Carey win James Tait Black Memorial Prizes". The Telegraph. August 20, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
- ^ a b "Dazzling tale of Ms Saigon takes top award". The Scotsman. August 20, 2011.
- ^ a b Jen Bowden. "Fiona MacCarthy and Padgett Powell win James Tait Black prizes". The Guardian. Retrieved August 26, 2013.
- ^ a b "Authors join book prize's hall of fame". University of Edinburgh. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
- ^ "2014 drama awards". University of Edinburgh. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
- ^ a b Alison Flood (August 17, 2015). "James Tait Black prize goes to Zia Haider Rahman's debut novel". The Guardian.
- ^ "Play by bestselling author wins drama prize". University of Edinburgh. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
- ^ a b Russell Leadbetter (21 October 2012). "Book prize names six of the best in search for winner". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- ^ a b "Authors in running for 'best of best' James Tait Black award". BBC News. 21 October 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
- ^ a b Alison Flood (6 December 2012). "Angela Carter named best ever winner of James Tait Black award". The Guardian. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
External links
- James Tait Black Prizes homepage, University of Edinburgh
- Windows Media Video report of the 2007 James Tait Black Prize ceremony
- James Tait Black Prizes homepage, University of Edinburgh
- New Statesman article on the James Tait Black and Booker prizes
- James Tait Black feature on the BBC Radio 4's 'Open Book' (includes audio link)