Forty-nine novels on the long-list for the €100,000 award
Libraries in sixty-nine cities across thirty countries have selected the long-list for the most prestigious literary prize in the world in its category. Sponsored by Dublin City Council, The Dublin Literary Award offers €100,000 to a single work of fiction published in English.
Previous winners include Anna Burns for Milkman, and Mike McCormack for Solar Bones.
The most nominated book for the 2021 award is On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong, while two novels share the second slot—Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor (translated by Sophie Hughes), and The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead.
Four Irish novels have made the longlist:
When all is Said by Anne Griffin (Hodder and Stoughton) Łódź Public Library, Poland
Apeirogon by Colum McCann (Bloomsbury) South Dublin Libraries, Ireland
Shadowplay by Joseph O’Connor (Harvill Secker) Municipal Library of Genève, Switzerland
The Trumpet Shall Sound by Eibhear Walshe (Sommerville Press) Cork City Libraries, Ireland
On being long-listed for the award, author Anne Griffin says that being nominated is like winning in itself.
“I am so honoured and humbled to know this nomination came from a Polish library. Their understanding of the book, our vulnerability and flaws as human beings and our inability to say what matters, was a precious gift to me.
“This award is not just testament to the fantastic work of librarians across Europe but also to the quality of translations of Irish writing across the world today. That translators can capture an emotion, a sentiment from one language to another with such compassion is remarkable and an endorsement for the work of such organisations as Literature Ireland.”
The shortlist will be announced on 25 March 2021 with the winner announced on 20 May 2021, as part of the International Literature Festival Dublin. You can find the full long-list and more about the award here.
