SOURCE: DUBLINLITERARYAWARD

With books nominated by 84 libraries from 31 countries, 3 novels by Irish authors are in the running for the €100,000 prize sponsored by Dublin City Council

Monday 30th January 2023: Novels by three Irish authors are among the 70 books nominated by libraries around the world for the 2023 Dublin Literary Award, which is sponsored by Dublin City Council. Now in its 28th year, this award is the world’s most valuable annual prize for a single work of fiction published in English, worth €100,000 to the winner.

Nominations include 29 novels in translation, with works nominated by 84 libraries from 31 countries across Africa, Europe, Asia, the US, Canada, South America, Australia, and New Zealand. 14 are debut novels. If the winning book has been translated, the author receives €75,000 and the translator receives €25,000.

Among the 29 translated books are novels originally published in Arabic, Bulgarian, Dutch, Hindi, Korean, Slovene, Icelandic and Japanese.

The Irish titles nominated for the 2023 Award are:

• Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, published by Faber Books, and nominated by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Libraries Dublin, Galway Public Libraries, Waterford City and County Library, in Ireland, and Chicago Public Library, United States.
• 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard, published by Corvus (Atlantic Books) and nominated by Cork City Libraries, Ireland.
• The Magician by Colm Tóibín, published by Penguin Random House, and nominated by Bibliotheek Gent, Belgium.

The shortlist will be unveiled on 28th March and the winner will be announced by Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr. Caroline Conroy, on 25th May 2023, as part of the International Literature Festival Dublin, which is also funded by Dublin City Council.

The novels nominated will be available for readers to borrow from Dublin City Libraries and from public libraries around Ireland, and some can be borrowed as eBooks and eAudiobooks on the free Borrowbox app, available to all public library users.

Download the complete longlist of library nominations here

Download a collage image of the complete longlist of library nominations here

Download the Dublin Literary Award Longlist Brochure here

Speaking at the launch of the longlist, Patron of the Award, Lord Mayor of Dublin Cllr. Caroline Conroy said “This year’s Dublin Literary Award longlist is a fascinating chain of stories unifying readers across cultures and countries, more relevant now than ever before. I encourage you to drop into your local library to explore the list over the next few months, it not only rewards the reader but also has the power to transform you too.”

The international panel of judges who will select the shortlist and winner, features Gabriel Gbadamosi who is an Irish and Nigerian poet, playwright and critic based in London; Marie Hermet who is a writer and translator who teaches creative writing and translation at the Université Paris Cité; English writer Sarah Moss who is the author of eight novels and now teaches on the MA and MFA in creative writing at UCD; Doireann Ní Ghríofa who is a bilingual poet, essayist and translator from Co. Clare; and Arunava Sinha who translates fiction, non-fiction and poetry from Bengali to English and from English to Bengali and has won several translation awards in India.

The non-voting Chairperson is Professor Chris Morash, the Seamus Heaney Professor of Irish Writing at Trinity College Dublin.

Dublin City Librarian, Mairead Owens acknowledged the judging panel for their commitment and engagement with the award process this year with special thanks to the chair, Professor Chris Morash.

The longlist of 70 titles can be viewed in the attached PDF file and at dublinliteraryaward.ie

ENDS