Burns biography wins book prize

Tuesday, 1 December 2009

Burns biography wins book prize

Burns biography wins book prize

written by,
Robert Crawford
Mr Crawford won the top prize for his biography of Burns

A biography of Robert Burns has won the £10,000 book of the year prize at the 2009 Saltire Society Literary Awards.

Robert Crawford won the award for his book The Bard, against stiff competition from authors AL Kennedy and Janice Galloway.

Other awards went to a history of Scottish philosophy, a biography of John Muir and the Historical Thesaurus of the English dictionary.

The award ceremony was held in Edinburgh on Monday.

The awards were presented by Culture Minister Michael Russell, who said: "It is great to see the prestigious Saltire Society Literary Awards fully involved with the Homecoming Scotland Finale celebrations.

"The awards play a huge part in celebrating Scotland's literary heritage and the incredible strength of talent displayed by our contemporary writers.

"It is fitting that we applaud this talent on St Andrew's Day - our national day - particularly when this year's winning entries reflect the rich cultural, natural and intellectual heritage of this nation."

Martyn Wade, National Librarian, said: "It has been an honour to host these prestigious awards for the 12th time, recognising the wealth of literary talent Scotland has to offer."

The annual awards have been held for the past 27 years.

Report from the BBC

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Homecoming Scotland 2014 - ALL ROADS LEAD TO HOME

ALL ROADS LEAD TO HOME First Minister, Alex Salmond celebrates Scotland at launch of ‘exceptional’ Homecoming 2014 programme An all-star concert to herald the opening of the Ryder Cup, a huge flotilla to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Forth Road Bridge, Europe’s biggest brass band festival and a thrilling re-enactment of the Battle of Bannockburn are just some of the spectacular events that will form Scotland’s 2014 Year of Homecoming, it was announced today. Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond officially unveiled the first phase of the year-long programme of events at Hopetoun House, near South Queensferry, alongside Mike Cantlay, Chairman of VisitScotland. VisitScotland and EventScotland are working in partnership with the Scottish Government to deliver Homecoming 2014 - an opportunity for communities nationally and internationally to explore Scotland and celebrate the very best of Scottish culture. Around 100 events were unveiled at the launch, with hundreds more expected to be unveiled over the next few months. This includes many new events, established events which will have a new homecoming element for 2014 and those that have joined through the partner programme to benefit from in-kind marketing. The five themes for Homecoming 2014 - active, food and drink, creative, natural and ancestry are all represented. Brand new events include the John Muir Festival in East Lothian to herald the opening of the John Muir coast to coast route, the Forth Bridges Festival to mark its 50th anniversary, a spectacular Ryder Cup Opening Concert, the Findhorn Bay Arts Festival in Moray, the World Sheepdog Trials in Tain and the European Festival of Brass based in Perthshire. Many existing events, including Hogmanay, Edinburgh Festivals, the Spirit of Speyside Whisky Festival, the Edinburgh Mela Festival, the Royal National MOD, the Turriff Show, the East Neuk Festival, the Outdoor Orkney Festival and Tweedlove Bike Festival will receive funding for new and exciting Homecoming additions to their planned programmes for 2014. With around 50 million people around the world claiming Scottish heritage, diaspora and clan-related events form a key part of Homecoming. These include around 30 events, including the celebrations to mark the 700th anniversary of the Battle of Bannockburn, the Aboyne Highland Games, the Inverness Highland Meeting 2014, the 10th Clan Munro International Gathering, the Dunfermline Bruce Festival and Piping Live!. An events fund of £3m will provide a stunning all-year-round programme of activity to complement the Ryder Cup and Commonwealth Games and it will be backed by a £1.75m marketing campaign by VisitScotland which will promote Homecoming 2014 at home and abroad.

HOMECOMING SCOTLAND - VISIT SCOTLAND OFFICIAL ACCOMODATION TELEPHONE BOOKING NUMBERS.

Visit Scotland Contact Centre have set up two "Hotline", telephone numbers for booking accommodation for overseas visitors and U.K. based residents.
The Visit Scotland Contact Centre telephone numbers have been set-up especially for Homecoming Scotland 2009 overseas visitors and U.K. residents. These numbers are also for every day tourists to our beautiful Scotland wishing to find the best holiday accommodation guided by the Visit Scotland reputation.
The telephone numbers will inform the enquirer about all types of accommodation including costs, and can give general information on all aspects of anything Scottish.
Overseas visitors please telephone;
0044 1506 832121 which is a direct line.
U.K. residents please telephone local rate;
0845 2255121
http://www.visitscotland.com
For more general information to Homecoming Scotland events;
http://www.homecomingscotland2009blog.com/HOMECOMING_SCOTLAND_2009_EVENTS_PROGRAMME.htm
PLEASE NOTE THERE IS A TRAVEL PLANNER FOR LOCAL SCOTTISH TRANSPORT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE.