It was announced today that, from this year on, the recipient of the International Dublin Literary Award will be announced during the International Literature Festival Dublin.
Dublin City is renowned across the world for literature, designated the 4th UNESCO City of Literature in 2010, and today two of the country’s most acclaimed celebrations of the written word announced the beginning of a new partnership.
The International Dublin Literary Award, now in its 25th year, is the world’s most valuable annual prize for a single work of fiction published in English, with the winner receiving €100,000. International Literature Festival Dublin is Ireland’s premier literary event, hosting the finest writers in the world annually to debate, provoke, delight and enthral. Both are initiatives of Dublin City Council.
Both traditionally take place in the earlier part of the year but, due to Covid-19, will now happen this autumn. The shortlist of 10 books for the International Dublin Literary Award will be announced on 3rd September and the overall winner will be announced on 22nd October, during ILFDublin’s reimagined 2020 festival. Shortlisted authors will also be featured in this year’s festival programme – details to be confirmed.
This announcement today highlights the continued commitment of Dublin City Council to the award as well as the key role DCC plays in ILFDublin.
Chief Executive Owen Keegan said today, “It gives me great pleasure to announce this exciting new chapter, bringing together two esteemed Dublin City Council initiatives. With shared ambitions to celebrate and promote international literature, as well as the rich literary heritage of Dublin City, this partnership between the International Dublin Literary Award and International Literature Festival Dublin seems like a perfect fit.”
In 2021, the award longlist will be announced at the start of the year with the winner announced in May. ILFDublin will also return to its usual May dates for the 2021 Festival.
The International Dublin Literary Award is presented annually for a novel written in English or translated into English and is sponsored solely by Dublin City Council. The award aims to promote quality literature internationally. It is unique from other awards as the books are nominated by libraries in major cities throughout the world and it is open to novels written in any language and by authors of any nationality – provided the book has been published in English or English translation.
156 novels were nominated for the 2020 Award, with 119 Libraries taking part from 40 countries worldwide. 54 of the titles are in translation, spanning 21 Languages. The 6 person judging panel is made up of Irish editor and columnist, Niall MacMonagle; Scottish author and editor Zoë Strachan; Yannick Garcia, a Catalan writer and translator based in Barcelona; Cathy Rentzenbrink, a Sunday Times top ten bestseller of the year writer; and Indian-born translator and champion of the novel, Shreela Ghosh. The non-voting Chairperson is Professor Chris Morash, Seamus Heaney Professor of Irish Writing at Trinity College Dublin.
International Literature Festival Dublin annually gathers the finest writers in the world to debate, provoke, delight and enthral. Attracting visitors from around the world, it is a destination for those who wish to celebrate the very best of Irish and international talent. With readings, discussions, debates, workshops, performance and screenings, the festival creates a hotbed of ideas. Whether it’s the mix of poets, writers of fiction and non-fiction, lyricists, playwrights and screenwriters, International Literature Festival Dublin brings new faces and house-hold names together in ways that surprise and inspire. Further details of the 2020 reimagined festival which will take place this autumn will be announced in the coming weeks.
