UK's oldest literary prize awarded in defiance of university marking boycott
It had been feared the James Tait Black prize would not go ahead but the University of Edinburgh pushed on with the award
A historic literary prize counting DH Lawrence among its recipients has been awarded in defiance of industrial action at the University of Edinburgh.
This year’s James Tait Black prize for fiction was under threat for the first time in its more than 100 year history as academics continue a marking boycott.
However, the university announced the prize would go ahead as usual, to the fury of staff.
Sophia Woodman, President of the UCU Edinburgh Branch Committee, said it was “deeply disappointing” that senior management are “insisting on business as usual”.
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“Many academic staff are effectively locked out of their jobs by punitive pay deductions,” she added.
Members of UCU Edinburgh face 100 per cent pay deductions for taking industrial action in a Marking and Assessment Boycott (MAB).
They have withdrawn labour in response to proposed staffing cuts, which the union says are neither necessary or fair.
Ms Woodman added: “Apparently, senior management does not care about the knock-on impact of refusing to pay staff on research, knowledge exchange, teaching and all the work that academic staff do beyond marking, which includes judging for the James Tait Black Prize.
“The union has repeatedly raised concerns about such effects of this deductions policy with management, but have had no response to date.”
Concern have been expressed that students expecting supervision for dissertations over the summer may not receive it as a consequence.
A spokeswoman for Edinburgh University said the institution has a “responsibility to minimise disruption”.
The James Tait Black prize is for the best work of fiction and biography, each awarding £10,000, and the only major book prize judged by students and academics.
It counts DH Lawrence and Evelyn Waugh among its previous winners and was awarded at a ceremony at the university on Thursday.
The winner of this year’s fiction prize is On the Greenwich Line by Shady Lewis, translated by Katharine Halls, with the biography prize taken by the The First and Last King of Haiti: The Rise and Fall of Henry Christophe by Marlene L. Daut.
Dr Hannah Kate Boast was the lead judge but pulled out of the judging process citing the fact the university was withholding 100 per cent of her pay due to her participation in the boycott.
She preferred not to comment given the nature of the industrial action.
The boycott, which started on 1 May, is the latest escalation in a long-running dispute over £140 million in budget cuts and an estimated 1,800 job losses at the university.
Founded in 1919 by Janet Coats, the widow of publisher James Tait Black, the prizes commemorate her husband's love of books.
Previous winners include DH Lawrence, Ian McEwan, Muriel Spark and Evelyn Waugh in the fiction category and Martin Amis, Quentin Bell, Hermione Lee and Lytton Strachey in biography.
Ms Woodman added: “A university is its staff and students; the idea that standards and proper procedures can be disregarded for expediency is inimical to how things should work in a university.
“We call on management to return to the negotiation table and seek to resolve our dispute as soon as possible, so that staff can return to doing their jobs.”
A University of Edinburgh spokeswoman said: “As well as being the UK’s longest-running literary prizes, it is the only major book awards judged by academic scholars and literature students.
“While we respect the right of our staff to take part in industrial action, we also have a responsibility to minimise disruption and support the Prizes to go ahead as intended.”
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