This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-28910727
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Jim Crace and Hermione Lee win James Tait Black Prizes | Jim Crace and Hermione Lee win James Tait Black Prizes |
(about 14 hours later) | |
A novel inspired by the daily toil of a shepherdess and a biography of a Booker prize-winning author have scooped the UK's oldest literary awards. | A novel inspired by the daily toil of a shepherdess and a biography of a Booker prize-winning author have scooped the UK's oldest literary awards. |
Novelist Jim Crace and biographer Hermione Lee have been awarded the James Tait Black Prizes. | |
The winners were announced by broadcaster Sally Magnusson at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. | The winners were announced by broadcaster Sally Magnusson at the Edinburgh International Book Festival. |
The prizes have been awarded annually by the University of Edinburgh since 1919. | The prizes have been awarded annually by the University of Edinburgh since 1919. |
Past winners include DH Lawrence, Graham Greene, Angela Carter and Ian McEwan. The winners receive £10,000. | Past winners include DH Lawrence, Graham Greene, Angela Carter and Ian McEwan. The winners receive £10,000. |
Former journalist and broadcaster Jim Crace claimed this year's fiction prize for his book Harvest. | |
The British-born author, who has written 13 books, has several prestigious awards to his name, including a Donald Windham-Sandy M Campbell Literature Prize from Yale University. | |
Harvest tells the story of a remote English village as economic progress disrupts pastoral idyll following the Enclosure Acts, creating legal property rights to land that was previously considered common. | Harvest tells the story of a remote English village as economic progress disrupts pastoral idyll following the Enclosure Acts, creating legal property rights to land that was previously considered common. |
Fiction judge Dr Lee Spinks said: "In Harvest, Jim Crace presents a spellbinding lyrical reflection upon the nature of cultural inheritance and the obligations and responsibilities of community in a changing and uncertain world. | Fiction judge Dr Lee Spinks said: "In Harvest, Jim Crace presents a spellbinding lyrical reflection upon the nature of cultural inheritance and the obligations and responsibilities of community in a changing and uncertain world. |
"It is a novel fit to be ranked among his very best, which means that it can be considered one of the distinctive achievements of contemporary literature in English." | "It is a novel fit to be ranked among his very best, which means that it can be considered one of the distinctive achievements of contemporary literature in English." |
'Masterclass in writing' | 'Masterclass in writing' |
Respected academic, critic and biographer Prof Dame Hermione Lee won the biography prize for her book Penelope Fitzgerald: A Life. | |
Prof Lee has written widely on women writers, including Virginia Woolf and Edith Wharton. | Prof Lee has written widely on women writers, including Virginia Woolf and Edith Wharton. |
Biography judge Prof Jonathan Wild said: "Hermione Lee's biography of Penelope Fitzgerald provides a masterclass in writing of this type. | Biography judge Prof Jonathan Wild said: "Hermione Lee's biography of Penelope Fitzgerald provides a masterclass in writing of this type. |
"It's the perfect marriage of an excellent subject and a biographer working at the very top of her game." | "It's the perfect marriage of an excellent subject and a biographer working at the very top of her game." |
The James Tait Black Prizes are distinctive in the way they are judged. | The James Tait Black Prizes are distinctive in the way they are judged. |
Each year more than 400 novels are read by academics and postgraduate students who nominate books for the shortlist. | Each year more than 400 novels are read by academics and postgraduate students who nominate books for the shortlist. |
The awards, organised by the University of Edinburgh's department of literatures, languages and cultures, were founded by Janet Coats, the widow of publisher James Black. | |
In 2013 the prize was extended to include a new category for drama. | In 2013 the prize was extended to include a new category for drama. |
Cannibals, a play set in an ex-Soviet war zone by British playwright Rory Mullarkey, was awarded the £10,000 prize for outstanding new drama earlier this month. | Cannibals, a play set in an ex-Soviet war zone by British playwright Rory Mullarkey, was awarded the £10,000 prize for outstanding new drama earlier this month. |