Dundee International Book Prize - World Literary Awards

Established: 2000
Organizer: Dundee – One City, Many Discoveries; University of Dundee
Category: General Fiction and Popular Fiction
Selection Method: Open call
Target: Newcomer
Frequency: 1 per year
Announcement Period: around October
Status: Active

Description

Established in 2000, the Dundee International Book Prize was an annual award for unpublished debut novels written in English, open to entrants worldwide. The prize offered £5,000 and publication by a partnering publisher — Birlinn (2000–2010), Cargo (2011–2014), and Freight Books (2014–2016). It was jointly organised by Dundee – One City, Many Discoveries and the University of Dundee. The 2017 prize was cancelled after initial judging when the organisers could no longer guarantee publication of the winning novel, effectively ending the prize after 2016.

Prize

Main Prize: Prize money and publication opportunity for the winning work (publication by publisher)
Cash Prize: 5,000 GBP

Publication of winning work (Birlinn / Cargo / Freight Books, etc.)
Exposure and promotion opportunities for the work
Increased recognition as a new author

Selection

Selection Process

Stage	Judges	Pass Rate	Announcement
First selection (sift)	Administrative office / Selection committee	—	Those who pass the first selection advance to the next stage. Pass information is managed internally, and shortlisted candidates are publicly announced later.
Final selection (shortlist / judging)	Selection committee (academics, writers, publishing professionals)	—	The selection committee conducts judging to determine the shortlist and winner, which are announced on the official website and in the press.
Winner announcement	Selection committee	—	The winner is announced on the official website and major media (e.g., BBC, etc.).

First selection (sift)

Judges Administrative office / Selection committee

Announcement Those who pass the first selection advance to the next stage. Pass information is managed internally, and shortlisted candidates are publicly announced later.

Final selection (shortlist / judging)

Judges Selection committee (academics, writers, publishing professionals)

Announcement The selection committee conducts judging to determine the shortlist and winner, which are announced on the official website and in the press.

Winner announcement

Judges Selection committee

Announcement The winner is announced on the official website and major media (e.g., BBC, etc.).

Criteria

Must be an unpublished debut full-length novel
Must be written in English
Genre and theme unrestricted, but must demonstrate publishable quality and originality
Literary merit (style, structure, character depiction, etc.)