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DUNDEE INTERNATIONAL BOOK PRIZE Three authors state their case for victory
W ith such an eclectic shortlist for this year’s Dundee International Book Prize, it seems the judges (including AL Kennedy, Lorraine Kelly and Brian Cox) have a tough decision ahead. Meanwhile, finalists Colette Victor, Jeff Hayden and Nicola White (pictured) all have their fingers crossed for their entries.
Victor’s What to Do With Lobsters in a Place Like Klippisfontein is influenced by one of her favourite novels. ‘I absolutely loved the way Harper Lee wrote To Kill a Mockingbird,’ she explains. ‘So slow, so patient and yet the story keeps you in its grips. I wanted to write a South African story that unfolded in one of our typical, conservative small-towns, where the telling itself reflected the mentality of the place.’ Second finalist Hayden explains how his
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novel, Mango, set in 1950s Puerto Rico, is an allegory inspired by an unsolved murder: ‘As a child growing up on the islands, I was familiar with the events, and set myself the task of working them into a compelling narrative.’ Finally, White’s In the Rosary Garden is also inspired by true events. ‘There was a real-life murder case in Ireland in 1984, known as the Kerry Babies, which became a kind of turning point – or perhaps warring point – of public opinion. It formed the germ of the idea and the time-setting of the early 80s.’ The winner, who receives £10,000 and a publishing deal from Cargo, will be announced on Thursday 24 October. (Karyn Dougan)
Dundee Literary Festival, Bonar Hall, Dundee, Thu 24–Sun 27 Oct.
HITLIST THE BEST BOOKS & SPOKEN WORD EVENTS
✽ Lennoxlove Book Festival Held in the Downton-esque Lennoxlove House, this is
glitzier than your average book festival. Look out for our favourites, comedian Viv Groskop and novelist William McIlvanney, and find out which author has won the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book Award. Lennoxlove House, East Lothian, Fri 1 Nov –Sun 3 Nov.
✽ Scottish Mental Health Arts and Film Festival Entertaining and
enlightening words from Denise Mina, Alasdair Gray and more. Mitchell Library, Glasgow, until Sat 19 Oct.
✽ Rally & Broad With musician Hailey Beavis and poet Tim Turnbull on the bill,
this is sure to be a great night See feature, page 22. Counting House, Edinburgh, Fri 18 Oct.
✽ By Leaves We Live Fair Get a proper poetry fix with writing workshops and
discussions, as well as stalls and displays with enough poetry books to build a small fort. Scottish Poetry Library, Edinburgh, Sat 26 Oct.
✽ Donna Tartt We love Tartt’s newest novel, The Goldfinch (see review, page 53).
Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh, Thu 14 Nov.
✽ Elizabeth May and Jana Oliver: Re-imagining Fairytales Modern takes
on classic tales are filling our TV and cinema screens – but literature is its true heart, as these two writers show. Blackwell’s, Edinburgh, Thu 24 Oct.
✽ Ghostly Stories with
Jeremy Dyson Set your Hallowe’en off the right way with Dyson’s spooktastic tales. The Banshee Labyrinth, Edinburgh, Wed 30 Oct.
K R A L C H T U R © O T O H P