Now what is the internet for if not self-promotion?* Today saw the official announcement of the Dundee International Book Prize featuring … me! (No big surprise, I mentioned ‘self-promotion’). Technically, it features my novel, Dog Mountain. Of course, it’s not only me. Twelve other writers have been plucked from about 350 entries. There follows a final list of three names, then a winner (there can be only one). The prize? Publication of your novel by Cargo Publishing and a whopping £10’000 in prize money.
Needless to say, I am thrilled, humbled, scared, excited, terrified, skeptical about my chances and above all impatient. I’ve never been one for the delayed gratification.
What do we want?
Instant gratification!
When do we want it?
Damn you! Quit stalling!
The full list can be found here. Good luck to everyone on the list, and a huge thanks to Cargo and the judges for including me.
If you need me I’ll be in the corner listening to the new Vampire Weekend album (WOW, it’s good) and trying not to think about anything.
*(I know, I know, dissolving borders, opening minds, equalising humanity, watching cats do stuff, porn)
Iain Maloney 
Hi Iain, congrats on making the DIBP shortlist! I made it to the final 13 last year and it was a terrific experience overall. If you have any questions or are curious to hear more, email me at neilcocker@hotmail.com and I’ll be happy to share my experiences. Cheers, Neil
Hi Neil, thanks for the congrats, and well done for making it to the final last year. There were some great writers on that list, like Pippa Goldschmidt and Kirsty Logan. Have you had any joy getting your novel published?
No joy, Iain. Had a very close call with one of the Glasgow publishers, but didn’t get there in the end. I had an agent for 7 years and had a few near things with bigger publishers too (eg. Viking) but in the end my novel wasn’t deemed commercial enough for the big guys, and in my view the small presses tend to either go massively for unusual novels they fall in love with or take a punt on someone who’s part of the local scene and can promote the book on the ground (as I write Scottish fiction but live in Luxembourg it’s a little tricky in this respect). I recently decided to go it alone and self-publish as an ebook, mainly to get the sense of fun back (which has dried up of late). All the best for the prize!