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Vertebrate Publishing, an independent publisher of outdoor books, has had two of its titles shortlisted for the 2014 Boardman Tasker Prize for Mountain Literature.
Vertebrate’s Hanging On by Martin Boysen and My Father, Frank by Tony Smythe join four other titles on this year’s shortlist: Tears of the Dawn by Jules Lines (Shelterstone); In Search of Peaks, Passes & Glaciers by Frank Nugent (The Collins Press); Nanga Parbat 1970 by Richard Sale and Jochen Hemmleb (Carreg Ltd); and Law Unto Himself by Michael Law (Open Spaces Publishing).
Established in 1983, the £3,000 international prize is presented annually by the Boardman Tasker Charitable Trust. The prize commemorates the lives of mountaineers and authors Peter Boardman and Joe Tasker, who disappeared together on Everest in 1982, and is given to the author or co-authors of an original work that has made an outstanding contribution to mountain literature.
This year’s judges Audrey Salkeld (chair), Chris Harle and Robin Campbell had to choose the shortlist from more than 40 titles. This is the fifth year that a Vertebrate title has made the shortlist, with Vertebrate titles winning on two occasions: Ron Fawcett’s Rock Athlete in 2010 and Andy Kirkpatrick’s Cold Wars in 2012.
Vertebrate's publishing manager John Coefield commented: “To see our books shortlisted for the Boardman Tasker Prize for a fifth year makes us immensely proud. It’s testament to the brilliant writing of our authors, and the hard work of our publishing team here in Sheffield. The number and quality of entries for the 2014 prize demonstrates just how strong the genre of mountain literature is – shortlisting down to six books must have been incredibly difficult for this year’s judges.”
The winner will be announced at a special ceremony as part of the Kendal Mountain Festival in November.