Voting has now closed.

The winner of the 2011 Book Awards will be announced on the 26th of August. All four finalists will be in attendance and it will be hosted by BBC Radio 4′s Jenni Murray.

Tickets are now on sale here.

 

 

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  • James Spence

     this is an amazing book about jackies life. the good and the bad times. saddening and enlightening. at some points hilarious. an amazing read and another classic from jackie

  • Martine SPENSKY

     The best book I read last year: Red Dust by Jackie Kay! Martine

  • Adjoa Andoh

     Jackie Kay’s frank and moving account of searching for her birth parents touched me as  gracious and disarming. As a mixed heritage English Ghanaian contemporary of the author, I grew up with my birth parents in a 1960′s Cotswold village. Challenging though that may have been,  the added challenges of adoption and that birth parent search in Ms Kay’s novel, powerfully reflect the complexities that many of us live with and potentially thrive on. She  explores with such humour and opened heartedness, we receive an intimation of what is possible with love and careful understanding. Ultimately Red Dust Road reads, to me, as a love letter to the writer’s adoptive parents, alongside a knowing embracing of the cultures and times that created the complex human being Jackie is today.What an encouragement.

  • Carmen

    Jackie Kay’s Red Dust Road is peppered with crushing disappointments, incredible events, scary encounters and shocking discoveries - so why did it make me smile so much? Read it and you will understand why it gets my vote for overall winner of the Scottish Book of the Year award. Best of luck Jackie!  

  • Laura

     Jackie Kay is a fantastic woman, and Red Dust Road is filled with laughter where there could be tears, poignant moments, and heartfelt life tales. Thanks Jackie.  

  • Adele Patrick

    A cultural highlight of last year was seeing Jackie Kay read from this fabulous, funny and poignant book at Glasgow Women’s Library with her remarkable family in attendance – what a memorable and moving night.
    Jackie’s voice literally and figuratively is a unique and important one in the landscape of Scottish literature and this award would be an opportunity to celebrate her latest magnificant contribution.

  • sheila ryan

      This is story telling at its best. A mythic tale and one we need to hear more often, of journeying, of crossing continents, in search of belonging, of identity, of becoming…….. Told with disarming simplicity, with grace and humour, the book is just so funny in places,  so that the roller coaster emotional ride, the heroism of the venture, almost passes us by, yet the story drawn stays long on the retina.  A rare gift of a tale generously offered sheila   

  • Justfemi

    A fantastic read and poignant story laced with love and laughter. 

  • litprom

    Leila Aboulela is the only woman writer who is writing convincingly and well from a Muslim perspective. If you liked her first novel >The translator< then this one is even more readable and commendable because the portrayal of a society is vaster and more complex.

  • Hilary Johnson

    Leila Aboulela is, quite simply, a beautiful writer and a wonderful storyteller, two qualities which shine out of her latest book, Lyrics Alley. And for those readers like myself, whose knowledge of the world she portrays is limited, there is the additional pleasure of finishing the novel having gained from the insights it provides.

  • Magdy_Radwan87

    I read the translator from leila aboulela it was a great Book I likethe way she write  

  • Linky

     Mashaallah! Leila Aboulela’s masterpiece is one of the greatest books I’ve ever read. Very classy. It was written in her own perceptive way that I like the most! She’s fantastic. PLEASE VOTE FOR LEILA ABOULELA. Shokran :)

  • Dalal Sarnou

    Leila Abulela simply provides her readers, no matter where they come or how they perceive life, a symbolic but very refined representation of life. I always enjoy reading her literary writings, and always dive in the stories she weaves, and establish a friendship with the characters she creates!! She is simply voicing her readers

  • Kate Lord Brown

    Vote Leila Aboulela – a wonderful writer and generous teacher  

  • Martin Hart

    Best of luck Jackie, you really deserve the award. 

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  • Salehmk

    That she honed her literary skill in Aberdeen, and writes timelessly and interculturally is truly remarkable.
    The historic, human saga that is Lyrics Alley by Leila Aboulela gets my vote.

  • Malashri Lal

    Leila Aboulela’s ‘Lyrics Alley’ combines socio-political details with a fine sensitivity towards the philosophical core in human civilization. It is a book placed in its time and also transcending it. Leila’s writing is poetic, innovative and captivating. I was lucky to attend a book session  with her in India She reads the text with a deep commitment to the women’s cause and discusses the context  with a candid poise.  

  • se-souny fatima

    very insightful novel as usual by a wonderful writer . 

  • Adam Draper

    Peebles’s way of drawing the reader into the world she is creating around Lomond, as his family and friends plan his recovery and he plots his own death, is little short of extraordinary.

  • http://twitter.com/chitranagarajan Chitra Nagarajan

    I love Jackie Kay.  I was lucky enough to hear her read from Red Dust Road at the weekend – love the woman, love the book.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Margaret-Sumner/100001744137378 Margaret Sumner

    My vote is for The Death of Lomond Friel, a superb first book from Sue Peebles.  A story of great depth, absorbing, entertaining but with serious undertones.  An author with great promise.   Please vote for her.  

  • Anreporter

     
    Wonderful book

    • http://www.scottishbookawards.com/ SMIT

       Which book did you vote for?

  • Rosslyn Macphail

     The Breakfast Room is yet another  delight from Stewart Conn.  I have it beside my bed and  dip into it regularly.  Whatever the mood there is something to make one smile,  contemplate, or simply be re-assured that life is worth living.

  • Mona Khalifa

     Reading Aboulela’s Lyrics Alley was a fascinating experience. It offers a deep understanding of human feelings. As the story unfolds, the reader can see how drastic are the differences created by our different cultures and displayed in the human behavior but yet how similar are our basic feelings. Aboulela uses dramatic events alternating with very sweet and passionate expressions that takes the reader through a beautiful and exciting journey.

  • http://www.scottishbookawards.com/ SMIT

     Who did you vote for, Alessandra?

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Lucy-Brown/574486069 Lucy Brown

     I heard Jackie Kay read extracts from her work a few months ago and I was hooked. Excellent speaker, her work is highlighted by poignancy and humour.

  • Norma Mcconnell

    The Death of Lomond Friel – Sue Peebles  – A fantastic read.  I couldn’t put the book down until the last page.  A very moving but well written novel.  Can’t wait for the next book.

  • Jamal

     the novel is not just a narrative of a sudanese poet but it is a work that sheds light on how national elites emerged in african nations in the on-going process of setting themselves free of the colonial hegemony during the years of mid-20th century..

  • Libellelune

     The Breakfast Room is an excellent collection of poetry by Stewart Conn. It would be great if poetry won, since it is far too often overlooked. 

  • Rose Kay

     Were lucky enough to host Jackie Kay here in Berwick-on-Tweed for International Women’s Day. She  talked about her early life which was mesmerising but the book was even better.

  • Anna Crowe

    Stewart Conn’s poems celebrate the extraordinary nature of the everyday, and through them always runs the sense of the fragility of human life and happiness

  • Stevie Henry

    Wonderful book by one fantastic writer 

  • Emma19842006

    Yet another great book from Jackie Kay!

    I was lucky enough to hear her read sections on my birthday last year at the woman’s library…and Jackie is a family friend it was nice to spend an evening where our two families were together!

    Really hope this book wins…especially since my mum (the look a like) gets a mention!!

    Well done Jackie!

  • Pascale Petit

    Jackie Kay writes brave, vulnerable, hugely accessible prose. She handles emotional depths with humour and a light touch. I love Red Dust Road and will return to it again and again as I do with all her books. 

  • craig

    I simply love the easy flow of Jackie Kay’s writing – and especially in this case the mix of real poignancy – and laugh-out-loud humour  – not often you get such a lovely mix.

  • ReadingLasses, Wigtown

     Thanks to jackie for her congruence, her honesty and the way she paints pictures in words that stir me all up inside.  Hope she enjoyed ReadingLasses, cos we loved her.

  • Gadproductions

    Jackie is an eloquent writer and funny as well. Story is brilliant and may prompt me to find out my story one day, maybe…. 

  • Robkent111

    Jackie Kay’s Red Dust Road is my one stand out book of 2011, and it’s only May! 

  • Keyslynne

    Jackie Kay’s work is very popular down here, particularly in London.
    Nice to see Red Dust Road is up for this award.

  • Jinty Stewart

    Great book! Great writer!

    • http://www.scottishbookawards.com/ SMIT

      Hi Jinty
      Who did you vote for?

  • Charles George

    Stewart Conn’s “The Breakfast Room” is sublime and wonderful.

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  • Lis McBride

    As a fan of Stewart Conn’s work over many years I’m proud to introduce this most recent book to my New Zealand friends.

  • 31redland

    interesting political decision not to let us identify ourselves as from Uk or GB – but it had to be one of the three nations making up the British Isles ? Why is that ?

    • http://www.scottishbookawards.com/ SMIT

      Hi 31redland.
      The awards are open to Scottish born/resident authors or books where the subject is mostly Scottish. We felt that opening up the voting to anyone in the world was a fair option as two of the short-listed authors are resident outside Scotland. We set up the countries list so that the first options were the UK countries, followed by the rest of the world partly because we expected the majority of votes to come from the UK-Scotland in particular-but also out of curiosity to see where in the world people were voting from. It’s been fascinating-votes from over 30 countries so far spanning every continent.
      I know where you’re coming from re: UK Vs 4 nations as I’m a Scottish/English hybrid myself and regard myself as British, but we’re asking where you are, not where you come from. I hope this helps.

  • Diane Dixon

    One of the things that is really important for me about Jackie Kay’s Red Dust Road is that, not only does she chart her own personal journey to find her birth mother and father and all that this may mean to her and her parents, but, also, she captures the political lives of her parents and the enormous contribution that they themselves made to who she currently is.   I applaude John and Helen Kay actually!  

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  • Stephen

    one for the family!!!

  • alex mcburney

    Thanks to Jackie for an excellant book covering her early years  and the search for her Birth parents.  I wish her every sucess in the  future

  • Hamado

    Lyrics Alley by Leila Aboulela is a unique reading experience, the dramatic events that happen give different meaning to each individual’s life. The book is full of different experiences, cultures and events but at the end the same human feeling will be shared from all readers. Leila Aboulela is a wonderful and insightful writer that inspired me all the way through the book.

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  • Linda Hall

    Jackie Kay’s Red Dust Road was wonderful.  The themes of family, self, heritage, culture and belonging apply to everyone.

  • Dionnespence

    Thanks for sharing your personal journey with us Jackie. It is an absolutely fantastic book, I read it in one go, I just couldn’t put it down. I laughed and cried throughout. I hope your journey continues so we can see further along that dusty road. 

  • Vivien Jones

    Jackie Kay’s ‘Red Dust Road’ shares the characteristics we associate with her writing – honest, sharp, deeply compassionate and questioning. There’s not another writer to touch her in Scotland or the UK for that matter – I heard her read from it at Wigtown Book Festival last year and she had the audience of several hundred rapt in her life story.

  • Kay Dunbar

    Jackie Kay’s events on Red Dust Road at Ways With Words at Dartington Hall last July and at Words by the Water in Cumbria in March greatly moved and amused the audiences. She is able to write about some painful and difficult times with honesty and humour. Amazing. She deserves prizes, accolades, beatification.

  • Ikeogu Oke

    I have read Red Dust Road. I found it to be a most moving autobiographical work enriched with a rare kind of honesty, humour and compassion on the author’s part, in spite of the heart-breaking issue it grapples with – the possible loss of her biological roots, and the even more traumatic fact of her not being accepted by her birth parents after she makes a rather epic journey to trace them after a forty-year separation. To the extent that it depicts a quest for love and identity, I think it is also a universal work, much as it identifies with those with whom the author finds enduring love and support – her adoptive parents. Red Dust Road is, I think, a timeless and inspiring life story of a woman who has transcended the handicap of being born unloved and unwanted by one’s natural parents – a situation in which countless innocent children have found themselves down the ages.

  • Alison Dilly

    Jackie Kay’s Red Dust Road should be read by everyone. Her descriptions of her themes simply place the reader there with her. Let’s make it her year.

  • Lucy

    I have laughed and cried in equal measure.  A wonderful book.

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  • Lesley

    I loved this book for its humor, warmth and intelligence. I kept digging my husband in the ribs and reading bits out as I read it in bed. It made us both chuckle and wonder at her spirit. It is a remarkable story but her honesty, perceptiveness and power to bring her people and landscapes so vividly to life are what make this book a winner.

  • Maria Jastrzebska

    Love this book and the poetry collection Fiere written as an accompaniment to it by Jackie Kay.

  • Heidi donnison

    A beautiful captivating insight into many aspects of life as lived by Jackie Kay it touched on subjects often unsung and unseen and because of this I enjoyed it all the more.

  • Heididonnison

    I was referring  to Jackie Kay’s Red Dust road in my earlier comment should anyone be wondering. I hope she wins with this fantastic book

  • Anita Smith

    This book is interesting, passionate and funny.  I loved it.

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  • http://twitter.com/LynnCherylEde Lynn Ede

    Witty and moving in turn, Red Dust Road is a fascinating insight into life’s journey. Good luck!

  • Jo Carroll

    I gave Red Dust Road to my neighbour for Christmas – knowing she’d lend it to me (it’s what we do) – both love it so much I think we’ll have to buy another copy!

  • Elinor Forbes

    ‘Red Dust Road’ is unforgettable.   Touching and unpretentious, the story of Jackie Kay’s enthusiastic journey in search of her birth parents is one of those rare books that grabs the attention and holds you enthralled till the last page and beyond. 

  • Maggie Mash

    What a feeling of love and warmth comes out of reading Red Dust Road. Jackie has written a very moving tribute to her adoptive parents, the Kays, and the story of her quest to trace her birth parents is funny, poignant and inspiring. And through it all, her love of Scotland shines through, so I think it would be very fitting for her to get this award. Good luck Jackie, I hope I am your good luck fairy! 

  • Katyvanhatty

    This book brings poetry to the forefront, it is up there alongside side Love That Dog by Sharon Creech.  This book is a different read and deserves to win.

  • Sid Wells

    I really enjoyed listening to the wonderful tale that is Red Dust Road – great humour and great depth combined….. Thank you Jackie!

  • Frank

    A great book – I hope it wins!

  • Rosemary

    I loved the book – written with humour, honesty and love, and a compelling read

  • John Stotesbury

    In Lyrics Avenue, LEILA ABOULELA achieves something unusual: an entirely credible pre-postcolonial Sudanese middle class world, but one that also connects with contemporary issues.  A worthy successor to her two previous novels.

  • Teresa O’Neill

    Manchester people proudly engaged in an evening of reading and discussion with Jackie Kay tonight in a local churnch on 4.08.11.  Her reading from Red Dust Road captivated the audience, leaving one feeling…  ” What a fantastic film this could be”.  

  • Bl

    Sue Peebles’ novel is beautiful.  Through her gentle and sometimes laugh out loud humour she manages to bring the indignities of aging out in the open.  I loved it.

  • Annmason1

    Insightful, compassionate and funny. I love this book

  • Nwadiaro Emeka .S.

    I wanted to casr my vote but unfortunately the door is shut before I got there ,

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  • User AvatarSMIT { Lyrics Alley was on the longlist for the Orange Prize but, alas, didn't win. The... } – Aug 16, 12:41 PM
  • User AvatarNwadiaro Emeka .S. { I wanted to casr my vote but unfortunately the door is shut before I got... } – Aug 12, 7:33 AM
  • User AvatarRupali Gupta {  am pleased to know that lyrics alley has won orange fiction prize. Leila Aboulela is... } – Aug 11, 7:29 AM