Modern Scottish Collections

It has been a good week for Scottish literature with James Kelman on the short-list for the Man Booker International Prize for the second time.

This time round he shares space on the list with figures as diverse and celebrated as Philip Pullman, Philip Roth, Marilynne Robinson and Anne Taylor. Kelman’s last novel Kieron Smith, boy won the Saltire Society Book of the Year award in 2008, and his 2010 collection If it is your life is just about to appear in paperback from http://www.penguin.co.uk/>Penguin.

A good selection of new items was received by the National Library of Scotland last week, including The Italian Chapel by Philip Paris, a novel based on the true story of the Italian prisoners of war in Orkney during the Second World War.

Also newly received was Headshook : contemporary novelists and poets writing on Scotland’s future. Edited by Stuart Kelly of the Scotland on Sunday, this book is a collection of new writings on the subject of Scotland’s future by eminent Scottish authors including contributions from Alasdair Gray, Ali Smith, Liz Lochhead, James Kelman.

Another recent addition was Homecomings, the story of a woman who finds the diary of a 19th century crofter in her attic. Homecomings is the debut novel by Donald Paterson who was born in Motherwell, grew up in Tain and now lives in the Black Isle.

Also recently received was Land, sea and Skye, the catalogue for an exhibition of Scottish landscapes by artist Fiona Haldane. The exhibition is being held at Eduardo Alessandro Studios in Dundee during March 2010.

The other week The Times came up with a list of the best 60 books of the past 60 years. As is usual with this sort of listing there are one or two titles we might not all agree on, but at least, as the Book Festival starts in Edinburgh, we can celebrate that three living Scottish writers are right up there with Allende, Murakami, Bellow, Tartt and co. Alasdair Gray takes the 1981 honours with, naturally, Lanark, while 1993 and 1994 name Irvine Welsh for Trainspotting and James Kelman for How late it was was, how late respectively. How long can it be, how long, since those famous books appeared ? Dame Muriel Spark’s output has clearly been too subtle to catch the eye of The Times writers, but perhaps we might also claim long-term Edinburgh resident J.K. Rowling for our own – she gets the 1997 place for her debut novel, a little something apparently about a school boy and a pebble.

Perhaps there was no big surprise at the Borders Book Festival in Melrose on Friday when the Scottish Arts Council Book of the Year award, worth £30,000, went to Kieron Smith, boy by James Kelman (top right in the photo) published by Hamish Hamilton. Kelman has already taken home a number of awards for this title, and this time round his formidable competition for this prize of prizes included newcomer Andrea McNicoll for her first book, Moonshine in the morning, acclaimed Dumfries-based poet Tom Pow for his collection Poor Alice, and Janice Galloway for her much celebrated memoir This is not about me. I personally was rooting for Galloway, who gave a rich reading from her book, but there’s no denying Kelman’s achievement. I think Kieron Smith, boy may be a book which will appeal to an audience who may not always have warmed to Kelman in the past. In his acceptance speech Kelman spoke wryly of the precarious life of writers, and the lack of acclaim certain Scottish figures – he named Agnes Owens specifically – have received. More information on the short-listed books and writers is provided by the Scottish Arts Council.