It’s such a fantastic honour to be shortlisted for Scotland’s National Book Awards. This is an incredible time for Scottish (based) literature with Scottish authors creating brilliant works of art that are resonating with people all around the world. To have a book acknowledged by the Saltire Society to have made a contribution in such a context is hugely gratifying. " David Ross

 

Danny Garvey was a sixteen-year-old footballing prodigy. Professional clubs clamoured to sign him, and a glittering future beckoned. And yet, his early promise remained unfulfilled, and Danny is back home in the tiny village of Barshaw to manage the struggling junior team he once played for. What’s more, he’s hiding a secret about a tragic night, thirteen years earlier, that changed the course of several lives. There’s only one Danny Garvey, they once chanted … and that’s the problem. A story of irrational hopes and fevered dreams – of unstoppable passion and unflinching commitment in the face of defeat – There’s Only One Danny Garvey is, above all, an unforgettable tale about finding hope and redemption in the most unexpected of places. 

This is a gripping novel of directness and evasion, casual and calculated violence, agonised remembering and wilful amnesia. Its cast of characters struggle to articulate their hopes and fears, yet Ross find subtle ways to reveal them to the reader. Set in the rough-and-tumble world of Ayrshire Junior Football, the sport is both central and peripheral to the novel’s concern with emotional connection, and the terrible consequences of its breakdown. 

“With such an immense array of breathtakingly original literary talent in Scotland, it is an honour to have David F. Ross’s profound, evocative novel One Danny Garvey shortlisted for what are undoubtedly Scotland’s most prestigious book awards. This is an extraordinary yet fitting achievement for David, who embraces his Scottishness with such passion and fervour. We are elated and humbled. " Karen Sullivan, Publisher, Orenda Books   




This book pulls no punches. Unflinchingly immersive, the very embodiment of the writing brings the reader face to face with painful questions around family, loyalty, and the impossible tension between self-preservation and unconditional love. Drawing on a deep well of lived experience, Shuggie Bain paints a picture both both ugly and beautiful. 

I want to thank the Saltire Society for this incredible award nomination.  It means the world to me to be nominated for Scotland’s National Book Award for Fiction. Every word in this novel was inspired by Scotland and Glasgow is a character in the book herself. ” Douglas Stuart



It is a real honour to be shortlisted for the Fiction Award in Scotland’s National Book Awards, especially seeing as my novel LUCKENBOOTH is so thoroughly anchored in Scotland, and mainly my hometown of Edinburgh, thank you! " Jenni Fagan 



Stories tucked away on every floor. No. 10 Luckenbooth Close is an archetypal Edinburgh tenement.  
 
1910. Jessie MacRae, the devil's daughter, arrives on the doorstep of the building and knocks on its freshly painted wooden door. She has been sent by her father to bear a child for the minister of culture, Mr Udman, and his fiancée, Elise. But soon after she gives birth to a baby girl, Hope, three days later, Jessie finds out no one is immune to Mr Udman’s anger. It is then that she places a curse on the building and all who live there – one that lasts a century.  
 
Over nine decades, the tenement bears witness to emblems of a changing world outside its walls. An infamous madam, a spy, a famous Beat poet, a coal miner who fears daylight, a psychic: these are some of the residents whose lives are plagued by the building's troubled history in disparate, sometimes chilling ways. The curse creeps up the nine floors and an enraged spirit world swells to the surface. Soon, the building's longest kept secret – the true horror of what happened to Jessie – will finally be heard.  


 This compelling novel is written in three parts and reads like a collection of dark and radical short stories. A fantastically graphic read that tells the stories of an array of characters who occupy the tenement for most of the 2oth century. Luckenbooth is a daring and beautifully crafted un-put-downable tour de force!  

 

We’re proud to publish Jenni and her incredible novel LUCKENBOOTH. To see it recognised with a shortlisting for the Fiction Award in Scotland’s National Book Awards feels very special. " Ailah Ahmed, Publishing Director of Hutchinson Heinemann   

I am absolutely delighted to be on this list, especially given the ferociously good company my book is in. Scottish fiction is exceptionally strong right now so it means a very great deal indeed that Scabby Queen is considered part of that. " Kirstin Innes 

Three days before her fifty-first birthday, Clio Campbell – one-hit-wonder, political activist, life-long-love and one-night-stand – kills herself in her friend Ruth’s spare bedroom. And, as practical as she is, Ruth doesn’t know what to do. Or how to feel. Because knowing and loving Clio Campbell was never straightforward. As news spreads, the story of Clio’s life spreads with it: from the Isle of Skye to an anarchist squat in Brixton, from a yoga retreat in Greece to Glasgow on the night of the Scottish referendum. Half a century of memories, of pain and of joy, and that peculiar feeling in between the two, are wrenched to the surface. Scabby Queen is a portrait of a woman who refuses to compromise, and a picture of a country that does nothing but. It’s about the silencing of women’s voices, about the destructive power of the celebrity machine, but most of all it is about empathy: its motives, its limits and the way it endlessly transformed.’ 

 

When a former pop star is found dead in her friend's spare bedroom, a nation is left asking "Who was Clio Campbell?" This immersive novel sweeps fifty years of Scottish history in search of an answer, following the lives of those who tried to love her. Both state-of-the-nation novel and compelling character study, Scabby Queen wears its heart (and its politics) ferociously on its sleeve. 
 

I wanted to publish Scabby Queen because I think it represents Scotland’s people, and the working class women of our country in particular, in a way I had never seen before. In Clio and her slash of lipstick I saw the same brilliant, defiant, complicated joy I’d seen in my mum and my grandma and my aunties at some 40th Birthday in a bowls club in Hallglen. Scabby Queen is an unforgettable book filled with unforgettable characters, so deserving of it’s place on this shortlist and on bookshelves across Scotland. We are unbelievably proud of Kirstin, and honoured call ourselves her publisher. " Jordan Mulligan, Harper Collins 


Quite frankly, I am ecstatic to be shortlisted for the Saltire Scottish Fiction Book Of The Year. Duck Feet is a novel about hope, and growing up in Scotland, and it’s had an incredible response from Scottish readers in particular who’ve really championed it. To be considered for this award is the cherry on top of the icing for me. " Ely Percy 


Duck Feet is a coming-of-age novel, set in the mid-noughties in Renfrew and Paisley, Scotland. It follows the lives of 12-year-old Kirsty Campbell and her friends as they navigate life from first to sixth year at Renfrew Grammar school. This book is a celebration of youth in an ever-changing world. It uses humour to tackle hard-hitting subjects such as drugs, bullying, sexuality, and teenage pregnancy. But moreover, it is a relatable and accessible portrait of figuring out who you are, plunging into the currents of life, and most of all, finding hope. By celebrated Scottish author Ely Percy, this is a relatable, quirky, and sometimes heart-wrenching story that paints an authentic portrait of growing up working class in Scotland. 

Duckfeet is a rare thing in contemporary literature; a novel with heart and humour which is also a feat of language and style. A micro landscape of teenagehood painted masterfully in Scots, it nonetheless  speaks to the universal. It enchanted the judging panel and we have no doubt it will enchant the world. Ely Percy is a gem. 

 

This is a huge honour and big opportunity for a small press like ours. We champion books that we believe in, so to see Duck Feet and Ely's work resonate with so many people is genuinely so rewarding. One of the most important aspects of this novel is its grounding in Scottish place and life, and being recognised by the Saltire Awards which is such a key proponent of the Scottish literary sphere really affirms the aims and value of the project. " Monstrous Regiment