A Woman of Opinion
Sean Lusk’s fictionalised retelling of the life of Mary Wortley Montagu took Scotland’s Fiction Book of the Year. Judges enjoyed flawless handling of the period, with modern resonances.
Phantom Limb
Chris Kohler’s inventive take on Scotland’s faithless minister tradition scooped Fiction Debut of the Year. Judges called it, ‘rich, brave and energetic’.
My Good Bright Wolf
Sarah Moss’s raw memoir of the resurgence of a teenage eating disorder is a glowing tribute to books, reading and human resilience. Awarding it Scotland’s Non-Fiction Book of the Year, judges called it, ‘a true work of art’.
Foreign Fruit
Judges chose Katie Goh’s first full-length work as Non-fiction Debut of the Year. Exploring identity and migration through the history of the orange, they called it ‘luscious’.
Polkadot Wounds
Winner of Scotland’s Poetry Book of the Year, Anthony Vahni Capildeo’s Polkadot Wounds explores ecopoetics, identity and faith through relics and ruins, and conversations with the living and the dead. Judges called it ‘boundary-pushing and rich’.
Good Sons
Tim Craven’s exploration of place, mental health and familial relationships was chosen as Scotland’s Poetry Debut of the Year. The judges praised its ‘poetic skilfulness and sense of surprise’.
Art Deco Scotland
Bruce Peter’s study of Scottish Art Deco scooped Research Book of the Year. The judges called the quality of the research ‘exceptional’.
Kate Atkinson
The 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award winner is Kate Atkinson. The author of thirteen novels as well as short stories and drama, Atkinson was recognised for Services to Literature in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2011 and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. The Saltire Society called her ‘an excellent ambassador for Scotland’, saying ‘her large casts of characters, intricate plots and deft handling of big themes speak to readers everywhere; the very special blend of literary and genre fiction she deploys sites her firmly within Scotland’s modern canon.’
