James Tait Black Memorial Prize

Founded in 1919, the James Tait Black Memorial Prizes are among the oldest and most prestigious book prizes awarded for literature written in the English Language and are Britain's oldest literary awards. Based at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, part of the United Kingdom, the prizes were founded by Mrs Janet Coutts Black in memory of her late husband, James Tait Black, a partner in the publishing house of A & C Black Ltd.

Notable and recent winners

Four Nobel winners have been recognised by the James Tait Black earlier in their careers. Sir William Golding, Nadine Gordimer and J. M. Coetzee each collected the fiction award, whilst Doris Lessing took the prize for biography prior to receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature. 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. Other major literary figures to receive the award include D. H. Lawrence, Arnold Bennett, John Buchan, Robert Graves, Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh, Anthony Powell, Muriel Spark, J.G. Ballard, Angela Carter, Margaret Drabble and Salman Rushdie.

More recent winners of note include Graham Swift, Zadie Smith, Martin Amis and Ian McEwan, each of whom have received either the fiction or biography prize in the course of the last decade. The most recent winners (for books published in 2007) were Rosalind Belben for "Our Horses in Egypt" and Rosemary Hill for "God's Architect: Pugin and the Building of Romantic Britain"."

cite news
url=http://www.ed.ac.uk/polopoly_fs/1.4166!fileManager/jamestaitblack08.wvx
publisher=University of Edinburgh
title=Video report of the James Tait Black Prize ceremony, August 2008
date=August 22, 2008

] .

election process and prize administration

The winners are chosen by the Professor of English Literature at the University, who is assisted by PhD 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."

cite news
url=http://www.ed.ac.uk/explore/people/jamestaitblack/200708_25_JTBAward.wvx
publisher=University of Edinburgh
title=Video report of the James Tait Black Prize ceremony, August 2007
date=August 27, 2007

] 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

cite news
url=http://www.ed.ac.uk/news/051125prize.html
publisher=University of Edinburgh
title=University boosts James Tait Black Prizes
date=November 28, 2005

] . This increase made the two annual prizes, one for fiction and the other for biography, the largest literary prizes on offer in Scotland

cite news
url=http://books.guardian.co.uk/news/articles/0,,1765877,00.html
publisher=The Guardian
title=Ali Smith hits the shortlists again
date=May 2, 2006

] . 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

cite news
url=http://www.ed.ac.uk/explore/people/jamestaitblack/ceremony.html
publisher=The University of Edinburgh
title=James Tait Black Memorial Prize Ceremony
date=June 8, 2007

] .

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.

Complete list of Winners

Notes

External links

* [http://www.ed.ac.uk/explore/people/jamestaitblack/ James Tait Black Prizes homepage, University of Edinburgh]
* [http://www.ed.ac.uk/explore/people/jamestaitblack/200708_25_JTBAward.wvx Windows Media video report of the 2007 James Tait Black Prize ceremony]
* [http://www.englit.ed.ac.uk/jtbinf.htm James Tait Black Prizes at the homepage of Edinburgh University's English Department]
* [http://www.awardannals.com/wiki/Honor_roll:James_Tait_Black_Memorial_Prize_for_Fiction Most honored books of the James Tait Black Prize shortlists]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/openbook/openbook_20060430.shtml James Tait Black feature on the BBC Radio 4's 'Open Book' (includes audio link)]