The search for Scotland’s next literary giant was launched on Burns Day in Dundee.
The 2012 Dundee International Book Prize offers aspiring authors the chance to win £10,000 and a publishing contract.
Now in its eighth year, the competition offers the largest cash prize for unpublished authors in the UK.
The competition is a joint venture between the Dundee One City, Many Discoveries campaign and Literary Dundee. It is open to both local writers and authors from around the world.
Anna Day, director of Literary Dundee, the Dundee University-led initiative to promote interest in literature, said she was sure that would-be novelists will once again rise to the challenge.
She added: ”Each year the job of judging gets more difficult as the reputation of the Dundee International Book Prize grows throughout the world.
”Dundee is a city which embraces writers AL Kennedy, born and bred in the city, Douglas Dunn, Kate Atkinson, John Burnside, Bill Duncan and Rosamunde Pilcher are amongst the ‘glitterati’ who have drawn on the City of Discovery for their inspiration over the last two decades.
”The prize celebrates the thirst for literature that exists locally, and raises the cultural profile of the city internationally.”
The winner of the 2012 competition will win a contract with Cargo Publishing. The closing date is March 1 2012.
More information is available at dundeebookprize.com