A biography of Orcadian poet and writer, George Mackay Brown, has won the Scottish First Book of the Year award at the 2006 Saltire Literary Awards.

Maggie Fergusson's George Mackay Brown: The Life, was hailed by the judges as "simply superb".

The book is also nominated in the biography section of the Costa Book Awards, formerly the Whitbread Prize, the winners of which will be announced in January 2007.