Janet Coats Black
Janet Coats Black (15 February 1844 – 15 November 1918) was a Scottish poet, philanthropist, and the founder of the James Tait Black prize, Britain's longest running literary award.
Biography[edit]
Janet Coats was born in Paisley in 1844 to Thomas Coats and Margaret Glen,[1] and was a member of the J. & P. Coats family, renowned for thread-making.[2]
She married James Tait Black in Paisley in 1884.[3] The couple moved to London in 1889. following the move of her husband's publishing house.[1]
In 1899, Coats Black published a volume of poetry, titled Verses and Rhymes.[2]
She died on 15 November 1918 aged 74.[3] In addition to her bequest leading to the establishment of the James Tait Black literary prizes, her will included a bequest of £20,000 for a charitable fund named for her mother, a £10,000 endowment to the Thomas Coats Memorial Church in Paisley, and an endowment to finance the libraries of the Northern Lighthouse Keepers.[1]
Legacy[edit]
James Tait Black Prize[edit]
The James Tait Black Prizes originate from a bequest by Janet Coats Black to commemorate her husband James Tait Blacks's love of books. She specified the prize categories of the award, which first took place in 1919.[2]
Janet Coats Black prize[edit]
To mark the centenary of the James Tait Black prizes in 2019, the University of Edinburgh presented the additional Janet Coats Black prize for short story writing by a matriculated postgraduate student at the University of Edinburgh.[4]
Janet Coats Memorial Prize[edit]
The Paisley Book Festival hosts the annual poetry prize, the Janet Coats Memorial Prize.[5]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c The new biographical dictionary of Scottish women. Elizabeth Ewan. Edinburgh. 2018. ISBN 978-1-4744-3629-8. OCLC 1057237368.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ a b c "The legacy of Janet Coats Black". The University of Edinburgh. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
- ^ a b "Book review: Marking the Centenary of the Woman who founded Scotland's Longest Running Literary Prizes: Janet Coats Black". The National. 11 November 2018. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
- ^ "Janet Coats Black prize". The University of Edinburgh. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 2022-08-04.
- ^ "Janet Coats Memorial Prize". Paisley Book Festival. Retrieved 2022-08-04.