SERIOUS THINGS shortlisted for the UK's first environmental book prize
August 6, 2009
Gregory Norminton's novel SERIOUS THINGS has been shortlisted for the first Robin Jenkins Literary Award, the UK's first environmental book prize.Brian Morton, Chair of the judging panel, said, "Robin Jenkins isn't immediately considered to be a nature writer - and certainly didn't consider himself to be such - but the land, whether in Scotland or somewhere more exotic, and the lives lived in it, whether by Scots or others, was central to his imagination. We've read many books and manuscripts written in that spirit. They all do honour to his memory and while and judging process is 'difficult', that old cliché disguises just how pleasurable it has been deciding on a shortlist for the inaugural Robin Jenkins award."
The awards shortlist in alphabetical order by author is:
Myrtle and Philip Ashmole: THE CARRIFRAN WILDWOOD STORY
Linda Cracknell: DOUBLING BACK: TEN PATHS TRODDEN IN MEMORY
Louisa Gairn: ECOLOGY IN MODERN SCOTTISH LITERATURE
Mandy Haggith: THE LAST BEAR
Linda Gillard: STAR GAZING
Gregory Norminton: SERIOUS THINGS
The award prize of £5,000 is sponsored by Forestry Commission Scotland and the winner will be announced at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in the Studio Theatre on 24th August at 5p.m.
Earlier, SERIOUS THINGS was longlisted for WORLD BOOK DAY '50 Best Books to Talk About'. Published in the UK by Sceptre, rights have also been sold in France and Romania.
Praise for SERIOUS THINGS:
'Engaging, energetic...subtle, clever and immensely enjoyable.' - - The Guardian
'It's superbly written, with not a single superfluous word, and enriched with wonderfully vivid images.' - - Murrough O'Brien, The Independent on Sunday
'For his impeccably written fourth novel, SERIOUS THINGS, Gregory Norminton has left behind the world of historical fiction of his first three books to take up the here and now...It is rare enough to find a successful conflation of the personal and the political but to articulate immense issues such as environmental depredation, the culture of narrow self-interest and the mendacity of power within a story that stays anchored to its plot and characters without falling into tub-thumping is astonishing...Structured like a thriller, SERIOUS THINGS is about nothing short of the slow death of the soul and its eventual redemption...it manages to refract LORD OF THE FLIES at times, THE SECRET HISTORY at others, even cast a glance at DEAD POETS SOCIETY. Norminton's measured, elegant prose makes beauty and menace sing in perfect harmony. The book is worth reading for his writing on the English countryside also, while his scaling of the treacherous cliffs of the human heart will take your breath away.' - - Neel Mukherjee, Sunday Telegraph
The full article on the Robin Jenkins Literary Award can be accessed here.
Gregory Norminton's website is available here, and his blog is available here.
You can access his biography page here.