Latest news with #OrwellPrize
Glasgow Times
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
Top author says Nicola Sturgeon book launch could harm his sales
Darren McGarvey said he felt 'disheartened' that the former first minister's autobiography Frankly hit the shelves in the same week as his Trauma Industrial Complex. The Orwell Prize winner took to Twitter/X to say he was 'disheartened' that the release of Sturgeon's new book coincided with his, writing: 'A famous political figure could publish any day of the year and sell tens of thousands of copies. Nicola's publisher decided to go the same day as me. READ NEXT: Low Moss prisoner fractured fellow inmate's eye socket amid an ambush READ NEXT: Glasgow man stealing from cars spat and told cops he had HIV 'They probably didn't even know, let alone care, when they set their date back in March – I'm a drop in the ocean of public consciousness. But the implications for my book could be serious.' Sturgeon's book had been pencilled in for release this Thursday, however it went on sale on Monday. McGarvey's book is released on Thursday. (Image: NQ) It has attracted widespread publicity, with the SNP MSP doing a slew of interviews to promote the nearly 500-page work. McGarvey added: 'So much oxygen is being sucked out of the room with drip fed revelations dominating airwaves and column inches. 'Every bookstore has to make a choice every week about which book to give a big push. And every potential reader has to make a choice about how to spend their hard-earned cash.' McGarvey admitted this was a 'first world problem', adding: 'I wish every author publishing this week the best of luck – including Nicola. Its a bruising experience even when it goes really well.'
The National
12-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Top author says Nicola Sturgeon book launch could harm his sales
Darren McGarvey said he felt 'disheartened' that the former first minister's autobiography Frankly hit the shelves in the same week as his Trauma Industrial Complex. The Orwell Prize winner took to Twitter/X to say he was 'disheartened' that the release of Sturgeon's new book coincided with his, writing: 'A famous political figure could publish any day of the year and sell tens of thousands of copies. Nicola's publisher decided to go the same day as me. READ MORE: JK Rowling responds as Nicola Sturgeon blames her for 'vile' gender row abuse 'They probably didn't even know, let alone care, when they set their date back in March – I'm a drop in the ocean of public consciousness. But the implications for my book could be serious.' Sturgeon's book had been pencilled in for release this Thursday, however it went on sale on Monday. McGarvey's book is released on Thursday. (Image: NQ) It has attracted widespread publicity, with the SNP MSP doing a slew of interviews to promote the nearly 500-page work. McGarvey added: 'So much oxygen is being sucked out of the room with drip fed revelations dominating airwaves and column inches. READ MORE: Seven things we learnt from Nicola Sturgeon's autobiography Frankly 'Every bookstore has to make a choice every week about which book to give a big push. And every potential reader has to make a choice about how to spend their hard-earned cash.' McGarvey admitted this was a 'first world problem', adding: 'I wish every author publishing this week the best of luck – including Nicola. Its a bruising experience even when it goes really well.'
The Herald Scotland
06-08-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Culture row risks Edinburgh International Book Festival
The world leading Edinburgh International Book Festival is not new to criticism. It has been condemned in recent years over the sponsorship from Baillie Gifford, an investment firm in the city with links to major fossil fuel profits. Book festival organisers eventually succumbed to pressure and dropped the investment firm as a sponsor last year. But that would not be enough to stave off a new culture row. 2025 was going to be no different for the festival with a new controversy emerging and for the festival's director Jenny Niven, it is one that could be a disaster for the renowned event. Scotland's culture sector has been facing the "perfect storm" in terms of funding, increased costs and shrinking revenue. The book festival has not been immune to that. Following the Covid-19 pandemic, the event initially struggled to bounce back with falling ticket sales and a sponsorship crisis. Ms Niven told The Herald's arts correspondent Brian Ferguson this week that she wanted to facilitate "productive" conversations instead of "polarised" debates. She has faced a significant level of criticism for her decision not to book the authors of the gender critical collection 'The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht' and Orwell Prize winner and social commentator Darren McGarvey. Read more: Ms Niven is right to say that it would be impossible to book every author who submitted literature - and it would be extremely difficult to represent all views. However, clearly her comments have inadvertently created a polarised debate on the future of culture in Scotland's capital. Ms Niven told The Herald: "With subjects that are particularly challenging or divisive, I think we need to make sure we're exploring them from the perspective of books that allow you to have a good robust conversation that is not about the personal, but is about the bigger picture issue. We don't always have those books in front of us." She also said her festival was absolutely not shying away from "difficult" conversations. But the authors who argue they have been "excluded" from the festival clearly feel their views, and their art, have been stifled in favour of less controversial opinions. At the same time, former first minister Nicola Sturgeon will debut her new memoir in a sold out show. There is no doubt that the debate around single-sex spaces and transgender rights has become polarised. But literature is intended to facilitate debate and differing opinions, not censor it. If the festival is not careful, it risks dimming what was once a vibrant and engaging cultural event in the city. It has become almost impossible to escape the self-ID debate, particularly with high profile employment tribunals and Supreme Court judgments. Given that it can be divisive, it seems like a mistake to prohibit these views from being debated in the open, and away from social media. But there's another glaring problem with it. After it dropped Baillie Gifford as its main sponsor, the festival, unsurprisingly, experienced the financial drawbacks. Since then, Edinburgh's International Book Festival has received a £300,000 lifeline fund from the Scottish Government to plug a shortfall created by cutting ties with the investment firm. That means that the event's public funding has doubled in a year to around £820,000 - a record sum. Should the recipients of significant levels of public funding be able to be so selective in the authors it books for the festival? Whether you like it or not, the organisers can, but it is a slippery slope that opens the event up to stringent criticism. In the process, the purpose of Edinburgh's International Book Festival risks being diminished at a crucial time for the country's culture sector.
Times
04-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Edinburgh Book Festival has excluded me, says prizewinning author
Darren McGarvey asked whether he had done something to upset festival organisers An Orwell Prize-winning author and gender-critical feminists have condemned the Edinburgh International Book Festival, accusing it of exclusion, discrimination and blacklisting. Darren McGarvey, who won the Orwell Prize for his book Poverty Safari and delivered a Reith lecture for the BBC, questioned the decision of festival bosses not to put him on the programme, saying that he felt excluded. He asked if he had done something to upset festival organisers. 'I know I'm not a big deal in grand scheme of things but this is now the second book I've had out and no invite to come and do an event, at my home country's flagship book festival. 'My work on trauma is current , it ties in nicely to your themes. It's full of material that ticks all your boxes for creating conversation.'
Irish Independent
28-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
‘I found myself standing semi-naked on the roof of a cop car in Amsterdam – but they were nice about it'
Donal Ryan is an author from Nenagh, Co Tipperary. He has published several novels, including his most recent work of fiction, Heart, Be at Peace, for which he won the 2025 Orwell Prize for political fiction. He lives in Co Limerick with his wife and two children.
