Saltire Society Literary Awards

Scotland's National Book Awards, formerly known as the Saltire Society Literary Awards, are made annually by the Saltire Society. First awarded in 1937, they are awarded for books by Scottish authors or about Scotland, and are awarded in several categories.

History
The first Saltire Society Book Award was given in 1937, the year after the Saltire Society was established. No awards were given after 1939 due to the Second World War, and the next award was made 1956. The History Book of the Year award was inaugurated in 1965. In 1982 sponsorship was obtained and since then the awards have been made annually. First books have been recognised since 1988, and in 1998 the award for Scottish Research Book of the Year was established.

Until around 2021, the awards were known as the Saltire Society Literary Awards, subtitled Scotland's National Book Awards, but then took on the subtitle as the name covering all of the literary awards that the society awards: Scotland's National Book Awards, and are known by this name.

Description
The awards seek to recognise books which are either by "living authors of Scottish descent or residing in Scotland," or which deal with "the work or life of a Scot or with a Scottish question, event or situation".

, the winner in each category receives an award created by artist Simon Baker of Evergreen Studios, based in Inverness; the winners of each literary award receive a cash prize of £2,000, while the winner of the Saltire Society Book of the Year is given a further £4,000.

Categories
A one-off Homecoming Book of the Year award was made in 2009 to celebrate the "Year of homecoming": the award was presented to American professor Donald Worster for his biography of John Muir, A Passion for Nature.

In 2014, the Scottish Literary Book of the Year was awarded, but was replaced after only one year by separate awards for Fiction Book of the Year and Non-Fiction Book of the Year

, the Saltire Society presents awards in the seven following categories: In 2019, a Lifetime Achievement Award was introduced, the inaugural prize going to Alasdair Gray. In 2022, Alexander McCall Smith won the prize.
 * Saltire Society Scottish Book of the Year Award (formerly "Scottish Book of the Year")
 * Saltire Society First Book of the Year
 * Saltire Society History Book of the Year
 * Saltire Society Research Book of the Year
 * Saltire Society Poetry Book of the Year (introduced in 2014)
 * Saltire Society Fiction Book of the Year (introduced in 2015)
 * Saltire Society Non-Fiction Book of the Year (introduced in 2015)
 * Saltire Society Book Cover Design of the Year
 * Saltire Society Publisher of the Year
 * Saltire Society Emerging Publisher of the Year (awarded in partnership with Publishing Scotland)

In addition, an annual student travel bursary is awarded to a creative writing graduate, and the Ross Roy Medal is awarded for the best PhD thesis on a subject related to Scottish literature.

Scottish Book of the Year
The Scottish Book of the Year award was established in 1937, and has been given annually since 1982. The award is open to novels, poetry and plays as well as non-fiction works on Scottish subjects.

Scottish Literary Book of the Year
The award for Literary Book of the Year was introduced in 2014, and was open to fiction, non-fiction or plays .The award only existed for one year before being replaced by separate awards for Fiction and Non-Fiction

Scottish Fiction Book of the Year
The fiction book of the year award was inaugurated in 2015.

Scottish First Book of the Year
The first book of the year award was inaugurated in 1988 and recognises an author who has not previously published a book. As with the book of the year, the award is open to novels, plays, poems and non-fiction.

Scottish Poetry Book of the Year
The award for Poetry Book of the Year was introduced in 2014

Scottish History Book of the Year
The award for History Book of the Year was established in 1965 in honour of the historian Agnes Mure Mackenzie (1891–1955).

Scottish Research Book of the Year
This award was initiated in 1998, and is made jointly by the Saltire Society and the National Library of Scotland. It aims to recognise books which "represent a significant body of research and offer new insight or dimension to the subject".