2018 International Dublin Literary Award Shortlist

Ten novels have been shortlisted for the 2018 International DUBLIN Literary Award, sponsored by Dublin (Ireland) City Council and managed by Dublin City Libraries.

The International DUBLIN Literary Award is worth €100,000 to the winner. If the book has been translated the author receives €75,000 and the translator received €25,000.

Among the shortlisted titles, the Herrera and Moresco novels have sff/horror elements.

  • Baba Dunja’s Last Love by Alina Bronsky (Ukrainian/German) Translated from the German by Tim Mohr. Published by Europa Editions.
  • The Transmigration of Bodies by Yuri Herrera (Mexican) Translated from the Spanish by Lisa Dillman. Published by And Other Stories.
  • The Unseen by Roy Jacobsen (Norwegian) Translated from Norwegian by Don Bartlett & Don Shaw. Published by MacLehose Press.
  • Human Acts by Han Kang (South Korean) Translated from Korean by Deborah Smith. Published by Portobello Books and Random House, USA.
  • The Lesser Bohemians by Eimear McBride (Irish) Published by Faber & Faber.
  • Solar Bones by Mike McCormack (Irish) Published by Tramp Press.
  • Distant Light  by Antonio Moresco (Italian) Translated from Italian by Richard Dixon. Published by Archipelago Books.
  • Ladivine  by Marie Ndiaye (French) Translated from French by Jordan Stump. Published by MacLehose Press.
  • The Woman Next Door by Yewande Omotoso (South African/Nigerian/Barbadian) Published by Chatto & Windus.
  •  My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout (American) Published by Penguin, UK

“The titles on this year’s shortlist were nominated by public libraries in Canada, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the USA’, said Dublin’s Lord Mayor, Ardmhéara, Mícheál Mac Donncha , 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 2018 shortlist by Eimear McBride and Mike McCormack.”

The five member international judging panel, chaired by Hon. Eugene R. Sullivan, will select one winner which will be announced by Lord Mayor, Ardmhéara, Mícheál Mac Donncha, Patron of the Award, on June 13.

[Based on a press release.]

 

4 thoughts on “2018 International Dublin Literary Award Shortlist

  1. The translator of Human Acts apparently embellished the book, making it less economical and more wordy. Some people thought this was just fine, but I was horrified. I want to read the book as it was written — I hope this isn’t going to start a trend.

    P.S. People have said they couldn’t access my web page — I think I fixed the URL, but let me know if not.

  2. @Lisa Goldstein: Yeesh, that’s pretty horrifying. Translation is always a difficult art, but this strikes me as just way out of bounds.

    ETA: I had the same problem (with the same fix) as JJ.

  3. @Lisa Goldstein: well, whatever Smith did, it worked well for me. I thought Human Acts was a powerful novel when translated (or “embellished”) into English, which I think is what Han Kang would’ve wanted from it. Indeed, she worked with Smith and approved of the translation, both of that and of The Vegetarian. Presumably also The White Book which came out in English relatively recently (and which I also devoured).

    From this article: “Never mind that they negotiated every word of the translation, and that Han herself stands by it[…]”

    And quite beside all that, I’m very glad that it’s shining a spotlight on Korean fiction; I hope more becomes more readily available in English and other languages. It’s criminally overlooked.

Comments are closed.