Winner of the Pulitzer Prize

International Dublin Literary Award: 2017 Shortlist – General Press Release

Viet Thanh Nguyen’s The Sympathizer on the shortlist for the 2017 International Dublin Literary Award. Originally published by The Dublin Literary Award. 

2017 Shortlist – General Press Release

The International DUBLIN Literary Award

1 Irish author, 6 novels in translation on the shortlist

The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen, shortlisted for the 2017 International Dublin Literary Award
#DubLitAward

Tuesday 11th April 2017: 10 novels have been shortlisted for the 2017 International DUBLIN Literary Award, proudly sponsored by Dublin City Council and managed by Dublin City Libraries. The list includes The Green Road by Irish author, Anne Enright, six novels in translation from Angola, Austria, Denmark/Norway, Mexico, Mozambique and Turkey, and novels from Nigeria, Vietnam and the USA.

Shortlist at a glance:

• 10 novels
• 11 nationalities
• 4 women
• 6 men
• 6 in translation
• 1 Irish author

The International DUBLIN Literary Award is worth €100,000 to the winner and is the world’s most valuable annual literary award for a single work of fiction published in English. The award was launched on 7th April 1995 and is now in its 22nd year.

The shortlisted titles are:

1. A General Theory of Oblivion by José Eduardo Agualusa (Angolan) Translated from the Portuguese by Daniel Hahn.

2. Confession of the Lioness by Mia Couto (Mozambican) Translated from the Portuguese by David Brookshaw.

3. The Green Road by Anne Enright (Irish )

4. The Prophets of Eternal Fjord by Kim Leine (Danish/Norwegian) Translated from the Danish by Martin Aitken.

5. The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli (Mexican) Translated from the Spanish by  Christina MacSweeney.

6. The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen (Vietnamese/American) First novel.

7. Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta (Nigerian-American) First novel.

8. A Strangeness in My Mind by Orhan Pamuk (Turkish) Translated from the Turkish by Ekin Oklap.

9. A Whole Life by Robert Seethaler (Austrian) Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins.

10. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (American)

‘The titles on this year’s shortlist were nominated by public libraries in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Sweden and the USA’, said Dublin’s Lord Mayor, Brendan Carr, Patron of the Award. ‘This is the beauty of this award; it reaches out to readers and authors worldwide, while also celebrating excellence in contemporary Irish literature represented on the 2017 shortlist by our laureate for Irish Fiction, Anne Enright.’

‘The 2017 winner will be chosen from this intriguing international shortlist which includes six novels in translation from Danish, German, Portuguese, Spanish and Turkish. The novels come from Angola, Austria, Denmark/Norway, Ireland, Mexico, Mozambique, Nigeria, Turkey, Vietnam and the USA’, said Margaret Hayes, Dublin City Librarian. ‘Issues of conflict and communication are set against a myriad of cultural and family settings and in contemporary and historic time periods. For readers, these stories add new and absorbing characters to our circle of international literary acquaintances.’

#DubLitAward

One of the shortlisted authors is a previous winner. Orhan Pamuk won the prize in 2003 for his novel, My Name is Red, translated from the Turkish by Erdag M. Göknar.

The five member international judging panel, chaired by Hon. Eugene R. Sullivan, will select one winner which will be announced by Lord Mayor, Brendan Carr, Patron of the Award, on Wednesday 21st June.

The Lord Mayor reminded Dubliners that they can borrow the shortlisted novels from Dublin City Public Libraries. “Readers have plenty of time to pick their own favourite between now and 21st June, when I announce the winner.

The International DUBLIN Literary Award is presented annually for a novel written in English or translated into English. Nominations are made by library systems in major cities throughout the world. Established in 1994, the Award is now wholly funded by Dublin City Council. The Award aims to promote excellence in world literature. Designated a UNESCO City of Literature in 2010, Dublin’s literary heritage is a significant driver of cultural tourism for the City.

The award promotes Dublin internationally as a literary destination, as Juan Pablo Villalobos (2016 judging panel) remarked “Dublin is a very literary city and for me as a Mexican writer I was very, very happy to be invited to be a judge because it’s the city of Samuel Beckett, one of my literary heroes, and of James Joyce of course. Obviously world wide Dublin is known as a literary city and I think that this prize is becoming every year more and more important.”

Recent previous winners of the award include:

Family Life by Akhil Sharma (2016), Harvest by Jim Crace (2015), The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Gabriel Vásquez (2014), City of Bohane by Kevin Barry (2013), Even the Dogs by Jon McGregor (2012), Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann (2011), The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker (2010)

All of the longlist novels can be viewed on http://www.dublinliteraryaward.ie/nominees/

Twitter: @DublinLitAward

Facebook: www.facebook.com/InternationalDublinLiteraryAward

For further information:

Dublin City Council Press Office 087 7400277 Email: press@dublincity.ie

Literary Award Office, Dublin City Libraries 01 6744802/1 Email: literaryaward@dublincity.ie

 

Share

More News