In celebration of the centennial of the James Tait Black Memorial Book Prizes the Centre for the History of the Book welcomed Lucinda Byatt on March 29th as she presented her research on the woman who made these prizes possible, Janet Coats Black. The James Tait Black Memorial Book Prizes are a collection of literary awards which are structured as three individual prizes each year in the categories of drama, fiction, and biography. Claiming the title of the longest-running prizes for literature offered in Scotland, the James Tait Black Memorial Book Prizes began in 1919 with Janet Coats Black, the wife of the man for whom the prize is named. Over the last century, however, the woman behind the prize has existed as a fringe historical figure with little more than rudimentary credit given when the prize is discussed. Continue reading →