Shortlist for Saltire book awards unveiled

Lucy Ellmann and David Wilson have been shortlisted for the Saltire Awards

Works by prize-winning author Lucy Ellmann and criminologist David Wilson are among this year's shortlist for Scotland's national book awards.

The Saltire Awards list also features poet Polly Clark and Clare Hunter in the first book category.

This year's event, on 30 November, will also feature a Lifetime Achievement award for "meaningful creative contribution to literature".

The event will recognise work across fiction, research, history and poetry.

Shortlisted books for 2019 include Prof David Wilson's My Life With Murderers in non-fiction and Lucy Ellmann's Ducks, Newburyport in the fiction category.

Also recognised are Polly Clark's Tiger and Damian Barr's You Will Be Safe Here as well as Leila Aboulela with Bird Summons, Ewan Morrison with Nina X and Ruairidh MacIlleathain with Coig Duilleagan na Seamraig (Five Leaves Of The Shamrock).

The latter is one of three Gaelic books on the shortlist across the range of categories.

An additional award, The Callum MacDonald Memorial Award for the publisher of an outstanding example of pamphlet poetry published during the previous year, is presented in partnership with the Scottish Poetry Library.

The event will see the winner of each book award receive a cash prize of £2,000 and go on to be considered for the top prize of Saltire Scottish Book of the Year, receiving a further £5,000.