An all-star judging panel including Hollywood heavyweight Brian Cox and world-renowned architect Lord Norman Foster has been unveiled for this year’s Dundee International Book Prize.
Novelist AL Kennedy, television presenter Lorraine Kelly and top literary agent Claire Alexander will also cast their eyes over the work of aspiring novelists competing for a publishing deal and a £10,000 cash prize.
Now in its ninth year, the Dundee International Book Prize attracts entries from across the globe and is highly valued by new writers seeking to break into the publishing world.
Literary Dundee director Anna Day said: “What is really interesting this year is that we have a very diverse panel who will each bring their own unique perspective to the judging process.
“This is a very accomplished panel, with an incredible amount of experience of entertainment and the creative industries.
“We are collating entries as we receive them and can tell from the submissions so far that the judges have a difficult decision ahead of them.
“I am really looking forward to finding out who they choose as this year’s winner and I am sure they will be a fitting recipient of one of the most exciting literary prizes for unpublished writers in the UK.”
Will Dawson, convener of city development at Dundee City Council, said: “We are delighted to have on board our very own Brian Cox and Lorraine Kelly, both of whom are fabulous ambassadors for Dundee, and we are delighted that they and the others judges are willing to give up their time to find the next winner of this prestigious prize.”
The competition is a joint venture between the Dundee One City, Many Discoveries campaign and Literary Dundee, a university-led initiative.
There is no minimum or maximum length to the manuscript but it must be the author’s debut novel. A full set of rules and details about how to submit an entry can be found at dundeebookprize.com.
Last year’s winner was New York writer Jacob Appel’s sharply observed post-9/11 satire on patriotism, politics and the media, The Man Who Wouldn’t Stand Up.
The closing date is March 4 and the winner will be informed of their success in June. The book will be launched in published form in the autumn.
gogston@thecourier.co.uk