Ian Thomson’s insight into modern-day Jamaica has been awarded the 2010 Dolman Travel Book of the Year! THE DEAD YARD, published by Faber, won Thomson the prize at a ceremony yesterday evening at the Arts Club in London. His title was chosen from more than 70 titles submitted to the prize.
Chair and travel writer Michael Jacobs, speaking from South America, said:
“THE DEAD YARD is not just a beautifully written and very rich account of a distant place, but also a book of vital importance for the understanding of a major element in contemporary British culture.”
In May of this year, Ian Thomson also won the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize, awarded to the book that best evokes the spirit of a place. The judging panel said:
“His candid portrait – vigorous, illuminating and sometimes shocking – allows Jamaica to speak for itself. Thomson is a brave writer who takes himself into unexpected, sometimes edgy places. The island he describes is a place of verdant beauty; history-ridden, post-colonial with an undertow of disappointment and violence. This is the best kind of travel writing: stimulating, educative and evocative.”
