A DEEPLY personal story about autism has won the third annual Anne Brown Essay Prize for Scotland.
‘Thin Slices’ by Edinburgh-based Sarah Whiteside is described as “a dynamic and inspirational exploration of her son’s autism, her realisation that she too is autistic, as well as the flawed social and scientific attitudes that surround neurodivergence”.
It was picked out for the £1500 prize by a judging panel led by columnist and former BBC political editor Brian Taylor.
He said: “Our final choice reflected the power and candour of the personal story, the depth of the accompanying research and analysis plus, of course, the quality of the writing. A worthy winner in a distinguished field.”
Whiteside is enjoying a successful year having already received a Scottish Book Trust New Writers’ Award.
Her work has also appeared in Ambit, The Letters Page, Brittle Star, New Writing Scotland and Gutter Magazine.
She said: “I was surprised and honoured to receive this award. The narrative around autism is changing fast just now, in large part due to the work of writers and advocates coming from within the autistic community.
“Wider society is starting to understand that autism is a different way of experiencing the world, rather than a set of deficits, and if this essay can play a small part in this change then it will have done its job.”
Two other essays were highly commended by the judges: Alison Irvine’s Can You See It Coming Out of the Mist, which describes and analyses the creation and subsequent decline of Cumbernauld New Town; and Jemma Neville’s From our own Correspondent, a dispatch from the frontline of motherhood and look at parenthood and bereavement.
Also shortlisted were Seeing Starlings by Chris Arthur;
Fashioning by Sasha de Buyl; and The World’s Longest Daisy Chain by Jenny Lindsay.
Adrian Turpin, Wigtown Book Festival artistic director, said: “The essays by Sarah, Alison, Jemma and the other finalists are fabulous pieces of work, underlining the importance of having a national competition to nurture and promote essay writing.
“Together they demonstrate the value of the essay as a way to dig deep into a wide range of subjects, bring fresh perspectives and offer profound insights on contemporary life.”
The competition commemorates journalist and former Wigtown Book Festival chair Anne Brown.
Thin Slices can be read on the festival website.
Photo by Colin Hattersley
