Other people relish in the Scottish spirit of Saint Andrew’s. Instead of joining them, I opted for the Saltire Society Literary Awards.

The Saltire Society was founded in 1936 to bring forward and promote the Scottish culture throughout the world. For this purpose, the Saltire Society organises numerous awards, one of which took place on the 30^th November 2017.

This event was my first award celebration since arriving in Scotland. The place was gorgeous, with a splendid Christmas tree and pleasant people. Once there, we met with my classmates as well as with people from different professional backgrounds – authors, professors, etc. – who were really eager to discuss literary and non-literary subjects with us.

The event itself is funded by the National Lottery through Creative Scotland. Altogether, there were eight awards in eight different categories and one medal for a thesis given.

There were judging panels for different categories with shadow panels for some awards.

On this occasion, some of my classmates were shadow members like David MacDonald Graham, Gabriella Rodriguez, Marija Katiliute or Katie Lumsden.

David MacDonald Graham vividly describes his experience on our blog: http://www.publishing.stir.ac.uk/saltire-society-judging-experience/.

Firstly, Lucy Linforth from Edinburgh University was awarded the Ross Roy Medal for her thesis.

This was followed by awards in literature and publishing. 2017’s publisher of the Saltire Society is Birlinn which is a wonderful Scottish independent publisher. This company is highly committed to protect Scottish and UK interests with high-quality editorial production.

Claire Squires, one of our professors in Publishing Studies at the University of Stirling, announced the winner of the Emerging Publisher Award 2017. A memorable moment for us to see her represent our class at this event, especially because the winners and co-founders of 404 Ink, Laura Jones and Heather McDaid, were also students in our programme! This was a wonderful celebration.

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Luath Press double-celebrated that night for the Research Book 2017 granted to Peter Mackay and Iain Macherson (An Leabhar Liath The Light Blue Book: 500 Years of Gaelic Love and Transgressive Verse) and for the Fiction Book 2017 granted to the hilarious Angus Peter Campbell (Memory and Straw).

Em Strang won the Poetry Book award 2017, with her title Bird-Woman published by Shearsman Books. “This is spellbinding poetry”, to quote the Saltire Society accordingly.

Ever Dundas received the First Book Award 2017 for her amazing novel Goblin. I am pleased that her novel which blends different genres could win an important award like this one. The work and writing of Ever Dundas are wonderful to bring her first title at this level of prestige.

Finally, I am glad to announce that Kapka Kassabova won both the Non-Fiction Book and Saltire Scottish Book Awards 2017 for her incredible work, Border: A Journey to the Edge of Europe, published by Saraband. Owing to a current subject and an amazingly written work, she deserves this recognition. “Borders don’t change”, she said last night. “My dream is (…) new borders” because the ones we have are synonymous with anger and fear. We need to make them fall.

Each award winner receives £2,000 with a wonderful award. In addition to the £2,000 set, the Saltire Book winner receives an extra £3,000. We got two winners in our group as well: Mireia Pauné Font and Hannah Chen. Each of them won a short-listed title because they found, in their welcoming bag, a pink pin from the Saltire Society.

Congratulations to everyone for being a source of inspiration and creativity!

“Every day is different because every book is different (…) it’s always varied, always challenging, but never boring”

–

Nicola Ramsey, Head of Editorial and Publisher of Islamic & Middle Eastern Studies at Edinburgh University Press, was the first visiting speaker of 2018. Nicola gave a warm, frank and interesting talk on the world of Academic Publishing, sharing insights on EUP and the particular dynamics of the sector, on the process of bringing a book to life and on her personal experience. Curiously, it was her 25^th anniversary of being a student of the Publishing Studies course. If her clear passion for books was not enough to immediately captivate her audience, her common history and background with the listeners at the University of Stirling certainly was.

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Nicola started by explaining that Academic Publishing, i.e. publications by and for academics, is dominated by UK and US players, being characterised mainly by 3 types of operators – commercial academic presses (e.g. Taylor & Francis), university presses (e.g. EUP) and, more recently, new university presses that defend Open Access (e.g. White Rose). She emphasised the global nature of the sector, and the high-value of the books produced (that are consequently more expensive than the average book). Editorial work is the engine that drives the business, contrary to what happens in Trade Publishing, which is much more market-driven. The Edinburgh University Press, which falls within the Academic realm, is a well-known mid-sized house focused on publishing books such as textbooks and research monographs, and journals across a range of subjects in the humanities and social sciences. It was born in the 1950s as a mere department of the university. Since then, it has metamorphosed and grown immensely. Just this year it plans to publish more than 200 books.

One of the most intriguing things Nicola discussed was the positive relationship between print books and ebooks that takes place in the Academic sector. There is a symbiosis between the two formats, which are commonly perceived as adversaries and as cannibalising each other’s sales. The visiting speaker believes this is because people enjoy the discoverability/accessibility/searchability of an-ebook but opt for print when they need to do some deep reading. As so, it really seems to be all about the content rather than the format, with paper and digital co-existing in harmony.

The visiting speaker’s role in the EUP is one of great responsibility. As the Head of Editorial, she ensures the publishing program matches the press’ strategy, and that key targets are met (e.g. control of costs, etc.). She must also keep an eye on industry developments and on innovations that can potentially improve internal processes or reveal business opportunities. As a Publisher, Nicola is a list-builder, undertaking market and competitor research, building relevant networks, and meeting authors. Maintaining a good reputation is seen as preponderant for the success of the publishing house, because it translates into attracting both more clients and authors. Trustworthiness is core for the Academic sector.

A typical day at work for Nicola involves lots of tea and lots of emails – and it is never boring. Indeed, all books are different and so represent new challenges. The best parts of the job include making a difference in authors’ lives, the success stories (when a book sells), being invested and involved, and the constant learning.

All in all, Nicola’s lecture was extremely insightful. Exposure to industry professionals really is an invaluable opportunity, allowing us to get a fresh perspective, and to further develop our knowledge.