The competition is named in honour of the late Edwin Morgan, one of the most widely regarded and much loved poets of the twentieth century.

New for 2012, the competition, which is now in its fifth year, will be accepting entries in both English and Scots in recognition of Morgan’s poetic mastery in both languages.

Sponsored by the University of Strathclyde, the competition is one of the richest awards for poetry in Europe and carries a prize fund of £6,600. In addition to the prize money and the prestige of winning, the shortlisted poets will also be given the opportunity to take part in a special prize-giving event here at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in August.

Last year’s winner Jane McKie won the £5,000 first prize for her poem Leper Window, St Mary the Virgin. The judges chose her work from more than 1,200 entries which they received from across the world.

This year’s competition is now open and accepting entries of previously unpublished poems from anyone, anywhere over the age of 18. Further details about the contest and how to enter can be found on the Edwin Morgan Poetry Competition website, where you can also read the winning poems from previous years.

Set in Paris at the end of the 18th century, Pure was described by the chair of the judging panel Geordie Greig as "a rich and brilliant historical novel of death and superstition…a morality tale which engrosses with its vivid evocation of pre-revolutionary France."

Now in its 40th year, the Costa Book Awards is one of the UK’s most prestigious literary accolades and carries a top prize of £30,000 for the overall winner, which is selected from the winners of five individual categories.

This year Andrew Miller was up against strong competition in the form of Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy’s latest collection The Bees, debut novelist Christie Watson’s Tiny Sunbirds Far Away, children’s writer Moira Young’s Blood Red Road and the hotly-tipped biography of Edward Thomas by Matthew Hollis.

The prize was announced at a ceremony in London last night, where exciting plans for a new short story award were also revealed.

Taking place on UNESCO International Day of the Book, 23 April, World Book Night 2012 promises to be a momentous celebration of reading when 1 million books will be given away to lucky recipients.

You can be part of the book-giving extravaganza by registering as a giver – one of 20,000 volunteers who will each receive 20 copies of their chosen title to give away.

Registering is easy, but you need to do it soon as the deadline for applications is Wednesday 1 February. Take a look at the tantalising line up of titles up for grabs (listed below), select which one you’d most like to give away, then go to www.worldbooknight.org and follow the instructions on how to sign up to be a giver.

This year's World Book Night books are:

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Player of Games by Iain M Banks
Sleepyhead by Mark Billingham
Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Take by Martina Cole
Harlequin by Bernard Cornwell
Someone Like You by Roald Dahl
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Room by Emma Donoghue
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
Misery by Stephen King
The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
Small Island by Andrea Levy
Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell
The Damned Utd by David Peace
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
Touching the Void by Joe Simpson
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Black Cat Bone, the title of which is a reference to a good luck talisman, was highly praised by the judging panel. Gillian Clarke, chair of the judges and a fellow poet, described it as ‘a haunting book of great beauty, powered by love, childhood memory, human longing and loneliness’. She also said that it ‘grew with every reading’.

Burnside was chosen as the winner from an exceptional shortlist which included previous TS Eliot prize winners Sean O'Brien and Carol Ann Duffy.

On hearing the news that he'd won, Burnside said that he was so surprised he ‘thought there had been a mistake’.

The TS Eliot Prize for Poetry was established to celebrate the Poetry Book Society's 40th birthday and to honour its founding poet. The £15,000 prize, donated by Eliot's widow, is awarded to the best collection of new poetry published in the UK and Ireland during the previous year.

Listen to John Burnside reading from his winning collection and discussing the inspiration behind his poetry.

Sarah Winman won the Galaxy New Writer of the Year Award for her debut novel When God was a Rabbit, just three weeks after we named her as the winner of our own Newton First Book Award.

Book Festival sell-out Caitlin Moran took the accolade for Non-fiction Book of the Year for her contemporary take on feminism How to be a Woman. You can watch our free recording of Caitlin's event online.

Man Booker Prize winner Alan Hollinghurst, who enthralled this year's Book Festival audience with his latest epic The Stranger's Child, was awarded the title of UK Author of the Year.

Other winners include Patrick Ness who picked up the prize for Children’s Book of the Year for his highly acclaimed book A Monster Calls, and Jennifer Egan who was named International Author of the Year.

All of the category winners were chosen by a panel of book industry experts, but the overall winner of Galaxy Book of the Year will be selected by a public vote. You can find details of all eleven authors in the running for the top prize, and information about how to vote for your favourite on the Galaxy National Book Awards website.

Due to the high demand for tickets many Caitlin fans were unable to see the event in person, so we’ve made it available to watch online for free. You can see it now on our YouTube channel.

We’ll be adding more event recordings from this year's Book Festival over the coming weeks to help you re-live the Festival magic through the winter months.

Once again the World Book Night organisers are seeking 20,000 volunteers to be part of this exciting book-giving extravaganza, which will take place on next year's UNESCO International Day of The Book, 23 April.

Each volunteer giver will receive 24 copies of their chosen book to give away as they please. The remainder of the 1 million books, which are being specially printed for World Book Night, will be distributed directly to hostels, prisons, hospitals and libraries through World Book Night charitable partners.

World Book Night, which first took place in the spring of 2011, was established to spread a love of reading and books. Julia Kingsford, World Book Night Chief Executive said she hoped that the ‘brilliant reads’ chosen for the 2012 giveaway would inspire ‘many hundreds of thousands of people to read’.

Full details of the 25 titles included in the giveaway along with details of how to apply to be a volunteer giver are on the World Book Night website.
 

We are seeking a web development company to maintain and develop our website and content management system and enhance our online presence.

If you are a creative, pro-active and well-resourced web development agency and are excited by the prospect of working with one of the world’s leading literary festivals we would be delighted to hear from you.

Please read the full development brief and the tender schedule on the jobs page of the website.

The award, the winner of which is selected by a public vote, was established in 2010 to celebrate the wealth of new writing that features in the Book Festival programme. Out of the 47 debut works of fiction eligible for the Newton First Book Award this year, When God Was a Rabbit was the clear winner, securing 10 percent of the 900 plus votes cast by readers and Festival attendees.

Book Festival Director Nick Barley said ‘I am thrilled that the prize has been met with such an enthusiastic response from readers: it is their passionate support for emerging authors that makes the Newton First Book Award special. When God Was a Rabbit is a worthy winner in a strong field‘.

When Sarah Winman appeared in front of a sell-out audience in Charlotte Square Gardens this August, she described When God Was a Rabbit as being ‘primarily a love story between a brother and a sister’. It is also a tale of secrets, friendship, love, loss and the ties that bind a family together, and its engagingly eccentric characters and moving story have kept readers enthralled and entertained. The book has been well received by both readers and reviewers alike, with one voter claiming ‘I defy anyone not to fall in love with the characters in this book - I laughed and cried my way through this compelling story’.

On hearing the news that she had won, Sarah Winman said ‘It is fantastic to receive this award, especially as Edinburgh was such a great and memorable festival to be part of‘.

Helena Morrissey from Newton Investment Management who sponsor the Award said ‘We congratulate Sarah Winman, and hope that for her, and all the finalists, this is a prologue to a vibrant and successful career.

Francesca Simon makes a special Edinburgh appearance on Sat 22 Oct at the National Museum of Scotland to share her new novel, The Sleeping Army (age 9 plus). And the tickets are FREE!

The Sleeping Army is a tale set in a modern Britain but with a twist – people still worship the old Viking gods. Young Freya wakes four of the famous Lewis Chessmen pieces and together they are summoned to Asgard where they are given a quest. This is an exciting adventure with dragons and giants and Viking mythology. Francesca is universally known for her hugely popular Horrid Henry series but in this new book is quite a departure.

Join Francesca to hear readings from the book and to find out about her inspiration for this exciting new story, followed by Lewis Chessmen themed activities. Francesca’s new book will be on sale in the Museum shop and there will be a book signing after her talk.

Tickets are FREE from the National Museum of Scotland website or telephone 0300 123 6789.

Date: Sat 22 October
Running time: 12:00 noon – 1pm
Venue: National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh
Suitable for: Age 9+
Price: Free
 

Burnside appeared at the Edinburgh International Book Festival in August this year when he gave his first ever live reading from Black Cat Bone before a delighted audience. He later explained to the Guardian that the collection is about romance, the darker side of relationships and the institutionalisation of emotion.

Chair of the judging panel and former Poet Laureate Andrew Motion described Black Cat Bone as being a book ‘to linger over, as well as one to enjoy at first reading" adding that  "it is a distinguished winner of the Forward Prize".

The Forward Poetry Prizes were established in order to bring contemporary poetry to the attention of the public. For the last twenty years they have rewarded both established and up-and-coming UK poets.

Other award winners this year include the late R F Langley, who won the prize for Best Single Poem for To a Nightingale, and Rachael Boast who won Best First Collection with her debut Sidereal. Rachael also appeared at this year’s Book Festival.

The winners were announced at a ceremony in London yesterday night, the eve of National Poetry Day.

Stephen Kelman is shortlisted for his debut novel Pigeon English, a story of teengage gang crime in London which draws parallels with the murder of Damilola Taylor.

Journalist and first time novelist A D Miller is also on the shortlist for Snowdrops, a chilling psychological thriller set in wintertime Moscow.

Both Kelman and Miller appeared at the Edinburgh International Book Festival this August, and both are in the running for our Newton First Book Award, which celebrates new fiction at the Festival.

The Man Booker Prize shortlist, which was selected by a panel of judges headed by Stella Rimmington, also features Carol Birch, who has previously been longlisted for the prize, and Julian Barnes who has been on the shortlist three times before, plus Patrick deWitt and Esi Edugyan.

The winner, who will receive a prize of £50,000, will be announced on 18 October.

The performed reading featured a host of authors and actors including Will Self, Ian Rankin, Janice Galloway and Alasdair Gray himself. Playing to a sell out audience, it was a fitting end to a vibrant Festival. Nick Barley, Director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, said ‘This is the most ambitious event we have ever staged at the Book Festival, and we are delighted that it has been so well received by participants and audiences alike’.

This year’s programme has featured almost 800 participants from 40 countries and has seen authors and audiences explore a diverse range of issues from the Arab Spring and the London riots to the influence of social media and the futures of Europe, Cities and Faith.

Highlights have included exclusive pre-publication readings from Bettany Hughes, Fiona MacCarthy and A N Wilson, the Donald Dewar Memorial Lecture given by former Lord Advocate Dame Elish Angiolini, the return of the popular Unbound series of late night literature and music in our Spiegeltent and the presentation of three major literary prizes at special awards ceremonies: the James Tait Black Awards; The Edwin Morgan International Poetry Competition and Creative Scotland’s Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust Book of the Year Award.

The Book Festival has also hosted a vibrant RBS Children’s programme featuring sell out events and record signing queues for Robert Muchamore, Darren Shan and Julia Donaldson, among others. The children’s programme concluded today with the RBS Schools Gala Day which saw over 12,000 primary school children visit Charlotte Square Gardens to see their favourite authors and enjoy the Book Festival atmosphere.

Speaking on the success of the Festival Andrew Coulton, the Book Festival’s Administrative Director, said ‘This year’s programme was bigger than ever and we are very proud that our Festival continues to draw such large audiences in a time of continuing economic uncertainty. Sales in our independent Festival bookshops were on a par with last year, an outstanding performance demonstrating that – to paraphrase Mark Twain – reports of the death of the book are greatly exaggerated. With around 190,000 visits during the Festival, even Scotland’s wettest August on record hasn’t managed to dampen spirits in Charlotte Square Gardens.'

Whilst the main Book Festival programme is now over, Book Festival activities will continue throughout the year. Through the Word Alliance there will be collaborative ventures including a performed reading of Alasdair Gray’s Fleck at the International Festival of Authors in Toronto later this year, and Unbound will feature in the programme at the Melbourne Writers Festival, thanks to the support of the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund.

We have also recently announced plans to publish a box set of the new writing commissioned by the Book Festival over the last year as part of the Elsewhere project, which was also supported by the Scottish Government’s Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund.

The 2012 Edinburgh International Book Festival will run from 11 to 27 August 2012 and the programme will be announced in June. In the meantime audio and visual highlights from this year’s programme will be made available on the Book Festival’s website throughout the autumn.

Writer and documentary film maker Dominic Streatfeild was at the Book Festival to discuss his latest work A History of the World since 9/11. Streatfeild claimed that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which are being fought in the name of ‘democracy’, have merely intensified the mistrust between Middle-Eastern Islamist societies and the West, and that the damage to Iraq’s infrastructure, the high number of civilian casualties and the ensuing civil war have caused irrevocable harm to the relationship between Britain and America and the Arab nations.

Streatfeild’s views were backed up by the American former CIA intelligence officer Michael Scheuer who, in a separate Book Festival event, said that America, in its endeavour to ‘clone itself’ in terms of values, policies and rights, by ‘occupying’ the Middle-East, has played straight into the hands of the Taliban and Al-Qaeda, strengthening insurgency in Arab nations by confirming their fears that the West is intrinsically opposed to Islam.

Scheuer said ‘we are faced with a problem, largely of our own making’, and that ‘we are much worse off today than we were on September the 11th 2001’.

The awards, which are run in partnership with Creative Scotland, were established over thirty years ago to recognise the very best in Scottish writing and are now one of the biggest literary prizes in Scotland. This year, for the first time ever, readers were involved in selecting the winner via a public vote. Red Dust Road secured over half of the public votes, and was the unanimous choice of the judges.

On winning the award, Jackie said that she was overjoyed, adding that Red Dust Road, which is a brave and heart-warming account of her journey towards finding her birth parents, ‘is about my family in all of its complexities. I happened to write the book, but in a way it feels like my whole family is the winner.’

Dr Gavin Wallace, Chair of the Judging Panel said ‘Jackie Kay’s Red Dust Road stood out in an exemplary way in showing one of our most distinctive and original writers at the very height of her powers. Written with an astonishing immediacy and directness of voice and with all Kay’s novelistic and poetic skills, it is a courageous, affirmative and lyrical memoir of the author’s search not just for her birth parents, but for self-identity and beyond’.

The shortlist for the award was made up of the winners of each of the four prize categories: Leila Aboulela for Lyrics Alley (fiction category); Stewart Conn for The Breakfast Room (poetry category); Sue Peebles for The Death of Lomond Friel (new book category) and Jackie Kay who topped the non-fiction category. Each category winner received a prize of £5,000, with the overall prize for Scottish Book of the Year being £30,000.

During a sold out event Jones, who wrote Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class, discussed a range of topics including the growth in youth unemployment in the UK, the radicalisation of young people and their lack of hope. He described this as a ‘lethal combination’ for the future generation of Britain’s youth.

Jones proposed that many young people do not have a future to risk, stating that this was a key factor in last week’s disturbances in London, Manchester and Birmingham. He also argued that an increasingly consumerist society was producing anger and resentment amongst many people ‘who are taunted by the display of wealth’ in urban areas.

However, Jones did not agree that a loss of morals in society was to blame for the recent disturbances.

Jones’ event was the first of several Book Festival discussions to touch on the subject of the recent unrest in the UK.

Chair Magnus Linklater, Scottish Editor of The Times, was joined by former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell, Scottish Education Secretary Mike Russell MSP and historian Neal Ascherson to debate the end of the Union.

During the debate Russell proposed that the Union was a ‘sentimental historical construct’ and that Scottish people had lost their fear of independence. Whilst Menzies Campbell put forward the case for radical constitutional reform, not only of devolution but also of the House of Lords and electoral reform. The final proposition of the evening came from Neil Ascherson who likened the breaking up of the Union not to a divorce but to a marriage; a big decision that should not be taken lightly as independence is a ‘one way street’.

Following the speeches members of the audience spoke on the topic and questioned the panel on the economic, social and political implications of independence on border control, EU membership and defence policy. A subsequent vote found that roughly half of the audience agreed that we are witnessing the early stages of the break-up of Britain, with the other half voting against the idea.

To close the debate Chair Magnus Linklater pressed Mike Russell for the exact phrasing which will appear on the ballot paper at the referendum. Whilst Russell refused to divulge this information he did say that it would be known in advance once the time was right and a full and wide ranging debate on the topic had taken place in Scotland.

We are thrilled to have the Guardian as our media partner this year. Videos, interviews, podcasts, previews and reviews of Edinburgh International Book Festival authors and events can be found on the Guardian’s website in the Books section. You can also create your own virtual bookshelf where you can rate, share and recommend your favourite authors and titles. Updates are posted daily so check in regularly to see what’s going on at the Book Festival as it happens.

See The Book I Bought Today series of podcasts filmed live in the Book Festival bookshops

Photographer Murdo MacLeod spends much of his days at the Edinburgh International Book Festival taking photographs of our authors in Charlotte Square Gardens. A selection of his photos have been published in the Guardian and can be viewed on the Guardian website.

The prizes are for the best work of fiction and the best biography published during the previous calendar year and are the only major British book awards judged by scholars and students of literature.

The winners of the prizes – awarded annually by the School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures at the University of Edinburgh – were announced this evening at a glittering awards ceremony at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

On winning the fiction prize for her first novel The Lotus Eaters, Tatjani Soli said: 'The lineage of the James Tait Black Prizes speaks for itself, and I am humbled and so proud to be part of it. This award is an undreamed of honour that I will always treasure'.

Hilary Spurling, who won the biography prize for her book Burying the Bones: Pearl Buck in China, said: 'I'm proud and pleased to be in the company of so many of my favourite writers, who've already won this first and most elegant of book prizes'.

Dr James Loxley, Head of English of Literature at the University of Edinburgh said: 'We're delighted to be honouring such outstanding works. The readers and judges have once again shown the acumen of the knowledgeable book lover and literary critic, which has been the hallmark of these prizes for more than ninety years.'

Past winners of the awards include figures of global literary distinction, such as DH Lawrence, Graham Greene, Evelyn Waugh, Muriel Spark, Angela Carter and Martin Amis.