Scottish Album of the Year Award launches for 2017

The SAY Award opens up public nominations for the 6th edition of the award, as the process of picking this year's winner gets underway

The Scottish Album of the Year has launched for 2017, with music fans and industry professionals invited to nominate their favourite Scottish albums from the last year. Albums released between 1 April 2016 and 31 March 2017 are eligible for consideration for this year's award – a 100-strong panel of industry experts will whittle the nominees down to a 20-album longlist in May, with the shortlist announced ahead of the SAY Award ceremony in Paisley on 28 June.

Bill Wells and Aiden Moffat won the inaugural SAY Award in 2012 for Everything's Getting Older, with RM Hubbert (Thirteen Lost & Found), Young Fathers (Tape Two) and Kathryn Joseph (Bones You Have Thrown Me and Blood I've Spilled) also triumphing. Anna Meredith won last year's award for her debut album Varmints – read our report from the 2016 SAY Award ceremony in Paisley.

To nominate an album, visit The SAY Award website for guidelines and more information.