Gregory’s Girl star aiming for book gong

AWARDS. What would Edinburgh be without them come August? With the festivals in full swing, there are awards recognising everything from acting to writing – even the reviewing community have their own gongs.

The latest award to be announced this year is the Anobii First Book Award, which is being showcased at the Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF). Over 17 days, 46 authors will vie for the 
coveted award, which is decided by festival-goers and 
readers voting online.

The award celebrates every debut novel, short story or first book translated into English featuring at the 2012 EIBF.

This year’s hopefuls include Gregory’s Girl star John Gordon Sinclair, whose debut crime novel, Seventy Times Seven, has been receiving critical acclaim, and stand-up comedian Russell Kane, whose novel, The Humorist, 
introduces readers to Benjamin Davids White – survivor, genius, critic and murderer.

You can play your part in discovering the next literary legend. To vote for your favourite book by a first-time author, claim a voting slip in the entrance tent to the book festival or visit www.edbookfest.co.uk.

Anobii, a global social network for book lovers, which aims to help readers find great books, will also be 
showcasing its new free Book Scanner app, which allows you to scan the barcode on the back of a book to access more than two million book reviews and reader ratings.