The Saltire Society Literary Awards are made annually by the

Saltire Society The Saltire Society is a membership organisation which aims to promote the understanding of the culture and heritage of Scotland. Founded in 1936, the society was "set up to promote and celebrate the uniqueness of Scottish culture and Scotland’s ...

. The awards seek to recognise books which are either by "living authors of Scottish descent or residing in Scotland," or which deal with "the work or life of a Scot or with a Scottish question, event or situation." The awards have been described as "the premiere prize for writing by Scots or about Scotland." The first Saltire Society Book Award was given in 1937, the year after the Saltire Society was established. No awards were given after 1939 due to the Second World War, and the next award was made 1956. The History Book of the Year award was inaugurated in 1965. In 1982 sponsorship was obtained and since then the awards have been made annually. First books have been recognised since 1988, and in 1998 the award for Scottish Research Book of the Year was established. The Saltire Society currently presents awards in the seven following categories: * Scottish Book of the Year * Scottish First Book of the Year * Scottish History Book of the Year * Scottish Research Book of the Year * Scottish Poetry Book of the Year (introduced in 2014) * Scottish Fiction Book of the Year (introduced in 2015) * Scottish Non-Fiction Book of the Year (introduced in 2015) In 2014, the Scottish Literary Book of the Year was awarded, but did not return in subsequent years. In 2019, a Lifetime Achievement Award was introduced, the inaugural prize going to

Alasdair Gray Alasdair James Gray (28 December 1934 – 29 December 2019) was a Scottish writer and artist. His first novel, ''Lanark: A Life in Four Books, Lanark'' (1981), is seen as a landmark of Scottish fiction. He published novels, short stories, plays ...

. In addition, an annual student travel bursary is awarded to a creative writing graduate, and the Ross Roy Medal is awarded for the best PhD thesis on a subject related to Scottish literature. A one-off Homecoming Book of the Year award was made in 2009 to celebrate the " Year of homecoming": the award was presented to American professor

Donald Worster Donald Worster (born 1941) is an American environmental historian who was, until his retirement, the Hall Distinguished Professor of American History at the University of Kansas. He is one of the founders of, and leading figures in, the field of ...

for his biography of

John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist ...

, ''A Passion for Nature''.

Past winners

Scottish Book of the Year

The Scottish Book of the Year award was established in 1937, and has been given annually since 1982. The award is open to novels, poetry and plays as well as non-fiction works on Scottish subjects.

Scottish Fiction of the Year

The fiction book of the year award was inaugurated in 2015.

Scottish First Book of the Year

The first book of the year award was inaugurated in 1988 and recognises an author who has not previously published a book. As with the book of the year, the award is open to novels, plays, poems and non-fiction.

Scottish History Book of the Year

The award for History Book of the Year was established in 1965 in honour of the historian

Agnes Mure Mackenzie Agnes Mure Mackenzie CBE (9 April 1891 – 26 February 1955) was a Scottish historian and writer. Her middle name is frequently misspelled Muir. Life Mackenzie was the daughter of physician and surgeon Dr Murdoch Mackenzie and Sarah Agne ...

(1891–1955).

Scottish Research Book of the Year

This award was initiated in 1998, and is made jointly by the Saltire Society and the National Library of Scotland. It aims to recognise books which "represent a significant body of research and offer new insight or dimension to the subject".

References

*Strachan, Anne (1989) ''Prizewinning Literature: UK Literary Award Winners'' Library Association Publishing Ltd.