University news

The shortlist for this year's Sceptre Prize for emerging writers has been announced.

Three students from the University of Glasgow's Edwin Morgan Centre for Creative Writing have been shortlisted from eleven longlisted writers for the £1500 prize: Joyce Ito, Linda McLaughlin and Carol Farrelly

In its fourth year, the annual Sceptre Prize is jointly run by the University of Glasgow and Sceptre (an imprint of Hodder & Stoughton) to encourage new Scottish novelists. All students from the University of Glasgow's acclaimed Edwin Morgan Centre for Creative Writing who achieve Distinctions in their final projects are eligible. They must submit between 5,000 and 10,000 words of a novel or a novel in progress.

The three shortlisted works all focus on the theme of family: Carol Farrelly's This Starling Flock focuses on an older brother's return to Dublin during World War II. Original Sins by Linda McLaughlin is a dark thriller about a woman who embarks on a journey into her parents' past that forces her to confront some of her deepest fears about herself. And in A Family Illness by Joyce Ito, a woman searching for her father finds herself trapped in a web of lies and deceit.

Professor Michael Schmidt, Convener of the Creative Writing Programme at the University, said: "The Sceptre Prize judges have a clear and unerring vision: again they have chosen a wonderful shortlist and like astronomers identified three possible stars."

Zoe Strachan, Creative Writing Course Tutor, said: "The University of Glasgow's prestigious Creative Writing Programme celebrated its 15th anniversary in September. Since Professors Philip Hobsbaum and Willy Maley founded the Masters in Creative Writing in 1995, the Programme has earned a world-wide reputation for excellence with many of its alumni becoming distinguished writers. We are very grateful for the continued support of Sceptre. The prize offers a wonderful incentive for our more ambitious students, and we hope that in return we can help reveal some of the literary talent of the future."

Bob McDevitt, Publisher at Hodder in Scotland, said: "In what has been a challenging year for the book industry, judging the Sceptre prize reminded me of some of the pleasures we enjoy working with books and writers. The three shortlisted writers all impressed us with their storytelling skill, their confidence and their commercial instincts."

Karen Cunningham, Director of Aye Write! Glasgow's Book Festival said: "Aye Write! has always sought to champion the work of emerging authors alongside the more established stars and it's struck a chord with the many thousands who attend Glasgow's Book Festival each year. I'm delighted the winner of the Sceptre Prize is being announced at Aye Write! which helps us continue that tradition. I can't wait to find out this year's winner."

The winner will be announced on Saturday 12 March and the prize will be presented as part of the Aye Write! literary festival in Glasgow.

Meanwhile, this year's Curtis Brown Prize will be shared by Kathrine Sowerby and Jacqueline Copleton.

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First published: 27 January 2011