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James Tait Black Prizes 2012

The 2012 James Tait Black Prizes went to The Last Sane Man: Michael Cardew, Modern Pots, Colonialism and the Counterculture by Tanya Harrod (Biography) and The Deadman's Pedal by Alan Warner (Fiction). 8 books made the shortlist across 2 categories.

Winners

Biography

  1. The Last Sane Man: Michael Cardew, Modern Pots, Colonialism and the Counterculture by Tanya Harrodsource (opens in a new tab)

Fiction

  1. The Deadman's Pedal by Alan Warnersource (opens in a new tab)

Shortlist

Biography

  1. Circulation: William Harvey's Revolutionary Idea by Thomas Wrightsource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Joseph Anton: A Memoir by Salman Rushdiesource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Portrait of a Novel: Henry James and the Making of an American Masterpiece by Michael Gorrasource (opens in a new tab)

Fiction

  1. Leaving the Atocha Station by Ben Lernersource (opens in a new tab)
  2. The Big Music by Kirsty Gunnsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. The Panopticon by Jenni Fagansource (opens in a new tab)

About the James Tait Black Prizes

Fiction and Biography shortlists and winners; Drama (2012-2019) is excluded. Year is the prize year as the University labels it: the books' publication year, with winners announced the following summer (the 2024 prizes were announced in August 2025). Each book appears once, as Winner or Shortlist. 2023 Biography had joint winners. Shortlists from University of Edinburgh news releases (ed.ac.uk, cahss.ed.ac.uk, james-tait-black.ed.ac.uk, and a 2010 University Bulletin PDF for 2009) for 2009, 2010 and 2012-2025. Fallbacks where no university page survives: 2006 from RTE, 2007 from The Guardian, 2008 from BBC News, 2011 from Deadline News. Shortlist sizes vary: 6 per category in 2006, 5 in 2007-2009 and 2025, 6 Biography in 2023, 5 Biography in 2024, 4 otherwise.

Organization: University of Edinburgh. Years are award years, which can differ from publication years. Official site (opens in a new tab)

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