First Book of the Year

The first book of the year award was inaugurated in 1988 and identifies rising stars. Books can be fiction, non-fiction or poetry.

WINNER 2024

Night Train to Odesa

Stout, Jen ISBN: 9781846976940
Paperback / softback

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When Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, millions of lives changed in an instant. Millions of people were suddenly on the move. In this great flow of people was a reporter from the north of Scotland. Jen Stout left Moscow abruptly, ending up on a border post in southeast Romania, from where she began to cover the human cost of Russian aggression. Her first-hand, vivid reporting brought the war home to readers in Scotland as she reported from front lines and cities across Ukraine. Stories from the night trains, birthday parties, military hospitals and bunkers: stories from the ground, from a writer with a deep sense of empathy, always seeking to understand the bigger picture, the big questions of identity, history, hopes and fears in this war in Europe. Night Train to Odesa begins in Russia and continues to focus on people, relationships and individuals in Ukraine. It is the account of a young female reporter with no institutional backup or security. 

- Browns Books Synopsis

Shortlist 2024

Jagger, Genevieve ISBN: 9781912489961
Paperback / softback

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Machray, Elle ISBN: 9780008559564
Paperback / softback

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Radcliffe, Allan ISBN: 9781914148385
Paperback / softback

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Stout, Jen ISBN: 9781846976940
Paperback / softback

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Watt, Nuala ISBN: 9781915108173
Paperback / softback

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