Award winning book set to unveil the dark realities of organ trafficking
Yesterday (13 January 2025), Liverpool Law School’s Dr Seán Columb was awarded the Giles St Aubyn award from the Royal Society of Literature for his forthcoming book, ‘My Scar Still Bleeds: A Journey into the Black-Market Trade in Organs’.
The prestigious award celebrates exceptional first commissioned works of non-fiction. Dr Seán Columb, Reader in Transnational Criminal Law, received the top prize of £10,000.
Set to be published by Guardian Faber, My Scar Still Bleeds explores the dark underworld of organ trafficking, weaving personal narratives with global events such as the Egyptian Revolution, the migrant crisis, and the Covid-19 pandemic. The book highlights the human cost of this exploitative trade, where vulnerable individuals are forced into Faustian bargains by criminal networks and complicit state agencies.
On receiving the Award, Seán said: "I am honoured to receive a RSL Giles St Aubyn Award for my forthcoming book on the organ trade. The award reinforces my commitment to connect with people who have been silenced by this crime and to bear witness to their stories. I am grateful for the opportunity to bring attention to this critical issue and to foster a deeper understanding of its complex, human costs."
Judge Cal Flynn said: "My Scar Still Bleeds is an ambitious and important book in the making, which deserves to reach as wide an audience as possible. Seán’s dedication to field work and the raw power of his writing marked this project apart. We, the judges, also felt his research to be unusually challenging—logistically, linguistically, emotionally—and resource intensive, and thus deserving of our backing. We wish him good luck and will be impatiently awaiting the release of the final version."