A judging panel comprising broadcaster Fred MacAulay, award-winning writer Denise Mina, Creative Scotland’s Jenny Niven, Dundee Honorary graduate Danny Wallace and literary agent Ed Wilson will decide which novelist will win a publishing deal with Cargo Publishing and £10,000, the largest cash prize for unpublished work in the UK.
Anna Day, director of Literary Dundee, said: “The Dundee International Book Prize is a vital part of our work, and a key way in which we celebrate and champion new voices.
“This year’s shortlist is a stellar mix of international talent and genres, and we’re deeply excited to see which one will win.”
The prize is now in its 11th year.
The winner will be announced at a gala dinner during the annual Dundee Literary Festival in October.
Previous winners include Nicola White in 2013 for In the Rosary Garden, and Amy Mason, with The Other Ida last year.
Will Dawson, convener of Dundee City Council’s city development committee, said, “Each year the quantity and quality of entrants for the Book Prize goes from strength to strength.
“I never envy the judges the difficult task they have of choosing just one winner from such a strong field but every time they manage to select a deserving book to take the title.”
Helen Sedgwick of Cargo Publishing said: “We were incredibly impressed with the quality of entries this year, and the shortlist reflects the wonderful variety of styles and stories on offer.
“Our congratulations go to all the finalists.”
The full 2015 shortlist is Rainbirds by Clarissa Nathania Goenawan, The Adventures of Us by Melanie Napthine,
The Chicken Soup Murder by Maria Donovan, Fire Eater by L. Andrea Mosier, Take Away People by Alison Napier, A Life Out of Key by Aesa Strand Vidarsdottir, Devil Take the Hindmost by Martin Cathcart Froden, The Historian’s Daughter by Rashida Murphy, The Angel with a Solemn Face by Lee Randall andWe Arrive Uninvited by Jen Knox.