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News Archive Lord Mayor of Dublin unveils winner of
International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award Copyright Milosz Rowicki De Niro's Game by Rawi Hage has scooped the world’s richest literary prize by being awarded the 13th annual International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award today, announced by the Lord Mayor, Cllr Paddy Bourke, Patron of the Award. Hage, who was born in Beirut, lived through nine years of civil war in the city before emigrating to Canada. His debut novel beat off competition from 137 titles, nominated by 162 public libraries from 45 countries. Acceptance Speech Dublin 12th June 2008 De Niro’s Game is told through the eyes of Bassam, as he grows up with his childhood friend George, in war-ravaged Beirut. As the young men reach adulthood they must choose their futures: to stay in the city and embrace a life of crime or go into exile abroad, alienated from the only existence they have known. On hearing about his win Rawi Hage said "I am a fortunate man. After a long journey of war, displacement and separation, I feel that I am one of the few wanderers who is privileged enough to have been rewarded, and for that I am very grateful. My gratitude extends to many people, but let me start with special thanks to the people of Ireland for their legendary hospitality and love of literature and words; to the organizers of the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and the award’s sponsors; and to the city of Dublin and its Lord Mayor. As well, to all those women and men of letters, and all artists who have chosen to represent multiple and diverse voices and people in their work, and to all those men and women who have chosen the painful and costly portrayal of truth over tribal self-righteousness, I am grateful. We should all be grateful." The IMPAC DUBLIN panel, which this year included Irish academic and writer Eibhlín Evans, said: “Rawi Hage's De Niro's Game is an eloquent, forthright and at times beautifully written first novel. Ringing with insight and authenticity the novel shows how war can envelope lives. It's a game where there are no winners, just degrees of survival. It's a wonderful debut and a deserving winner.” The IMPAC DUBLIN award is unique for being the largest literary prize for a single work of fiction published in English, as well as for being nominated by public libraries from around the globe. De Niro's Game was nominated by Winnipeg Public Library, in Rawi Hage’s adopted home of Canada. Cllr Paddy Bourke, Lord Mayor of Dublin said the strength of the IMPAC DUBLIN award lies in the nominations coming from libraries all over the world. “This year, as has been the case so many times in the past”, he said, “readers from every corner of the world have uncovered wonderful novels that otherwise may never have grasped public attention. IMPAC, Dublin City Council and Dublin City Libraries are extremely proud that the event has grown into one of the highlights not only of the Irish, but also the international, literary calendar.” Also shortlisted were; Winterwood by Patrick McCabe; The Attack by Yasmina Khadra; Let it be Morning by Sayed Kashua; The Woman Who Waited by Andrei Makine; The Sweet & Simple Kind by Yasmine Gooneratne; Dreams of Speaking by Gail Jones and The Speed of Light by Javier Cercas. The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award is managed by Dublin City Libraries, on behalf of Dublin City Council. It is sponsored by IMPAC, an international management productivity company with its European headquarters in Dublin. The Award is presented annually with the objective of promoting excellence in world literature. It is open to novels written in any language and by authors of any nationality, provided the work has been published in English or English translation in the specified time period as outlined in the rules and conditions for the year. Nominations are submitted by library systems in major cities throughout the world. All the novels nominated can be viewed on www.impacdublinaward.ie. Previous winners of the prestigious award include: This year there were five members of the international panel of judges chaired by Hon. Eugene R. Sullivan;
-ENDS- PATRICK McCABE’S WINTERWOOD IS ONE OF EIGHT NOVELS SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2008 INTERNATIONAL IMPAC DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD 2nd April 2008: Eight novels, including Winterwood by Irish author Patrick McCabe, have made the shortlist for the 2008 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. The Speed of Light – Javier Cercas (Spanish) in translation. Bloomsbury ‘‘To see Patrick McCabe’s name on the shortlist is a tribute to him and says a lot for the high standard of contemporary Irish literature. Ireland has a reputation for producing some of the world’s richest fiction and this tradition continues to be upheld with the recognition of one of our finest writers today’’, says Cllr Paddy Bourke, Lord Mayor of Dublin. Winterwood was nominated by both Cork and Dublin City Libraries. Dublin City Public Libraries also nominated a second shortlisted title, The Attack by Yasmina Khadra.
A judging panel of five, chaired by non-voting former Chief Judge of a US Court of Appeals, Hon. Eugene R. Sullivan, will select one winner from the eight novels shortlisted. (The winner will be announced by The Lord Mayor, Cllr. Paddy Bourke, Patron of the Award, in City Hall on 12th June 2008. -2- The Award is presented annually with the objective of promoting excellence in world literature. It is open to novels written in any language and by authors of any nationality, provided the work has been published in English or English translation in the specified time period as outlined in the rules and conditions for the year. Nominations are submitted by library systems in major cities throughout the world. All the novels nominated can be viewed on www.impacdublinaward.ie. Recent previous winners of the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award include:
Attached: Profiles of International Judges ENDS For further information: Dublin City Council Press Office 086 8150010 or Mary Murphy 087 233 6415 -3-
Patricia Duncker: From Jamaica, but has lived most of her life in Aamer Hussein: Born in 1955 in Karachi, Pakistan. He has lived in London since the 1970s. He is the author of five collections of stories, most recently Turquoise (2002), This Other Salt (2005) and Insomnia (2007). He is also Director of the MA in National and International Literatures in English at the Institute of English Studies (University of London). Eibhlín Evans: Grew up in Dublin and moved to England where she gained a PhD in English and Philosophy. She returned to Dublin in 2004 and became a member of the School of English and Drama at University College Dublin where she has been involved in the recently established M.A. Degree in Creative Writing. Eibhlín has published academic articles, essays and reviews and has edited a collection of essays on Irish writing. José Luis de Juan: Born in Palma, Majorca in1956 and graduated in Law and International Relations from the universities of Barcelona and John Hopkins. He worked as a lawyer and civil servant in different organisations and began to publish his literary work in the 1990s: six novels, short stories and two non-fiction books, as well as poetry. He has received literary awards in Spain and France and his works has been translated into English, French and Italian. ….. For further information: Mary Murphy 087 233 6415
Six Irish Authors nominated for the 2008 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
Six Irish writers have been nominated for the prestigious 2008 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. (The list of libraries that nominated them is attached.) They are in good company; other books among the 137 novels nominated include The Road by Cormac McCarthy, winner of this year’s Pulitzer Prize and Mr Pip by Lloyd Jones which won the 2007 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize.
‘‘Dublin City Council and Dublin Public Libraries are proud to be so closely involved with the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in this, its thirteenth year. I hope readers will go down to their local library, check out the list of nominated books and take out one they fancy and read it,’’ says the Lord Mayor, Cllr. Paddy Bourke. ‘‘What sets this award apart from other awards is that the books are nominated through a truly democratic process, that is, through the public library systems of cities worldwide. Anyone can get a library card and access this truly exceptional list of world literature. I encourage anybody who does not have a Library Card to apply for one immediately and prepare to enjoy wonderful reading in the months ahead’’ he continues.
The Irish titles were nominated by:
2007 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award - Winner Announced! LORD MAYOR CLLR. VINCENT JACKSON ANNOUNCES WINNER OF INTERNATIONAL IMPAC DUBLIN LITERARY AWARD Thursday, 14th May 2007: Out Stealing Horses by Norwegian author Per Petterson is the winner of the 12th International IMPAC Dublin Literary Awards announced by the Lord Mayor of Dublin Cllr Vincent Jackson today. Out Stealing Horses was the only translated work on the shortlist this year. It was translated from the original Norwegian into English by Anne Born, who will receive €25, 000 of the €100,000 prize. Born has translated novels of previous IMPAC Dublin nominees including Jens Christian Grondahl’s An Altered Light (2006) and Michael Larsen’s The Snake in Sydney (2002). The novel was published by Harvill Secker. The award is the world’s largest literary prize for a single work of fiction published in English. The winner was selected by a panel of five international judges and the presentation ceremony took place in Dublin’s City Hall. Petterson’s success follows that of Colm Toibin who last year was the first Irish writer to win the Award. Out Stealing Horses is a poignant and moving tale of a changing perspective on the world from youthful innocence to the difficult acceptance of betrayal, and of nostalgia for a simpler way of life. The story begins in 1948, when Trond is 15, he spends a summer in the country with his father. The events - the accidental death of a child, his best friend's feelings of guilt and eventual disappearance, his father's decision to leave the family for another woman - will change his life forever. An early morning adventure out stealing horses leaves Trond bruised and puzzled by his friend Jon's sudden breakdown. The tragedy which lies behind this scene becomes the catalyst for the two boys' families gradually to fall apart. As a 67-year-old man, and following the death of his wife, Trond has moved to an isolated part of Norway to live in solitude. But a chance encounter with a character from the fateful summer of 1948 brings the painful memories of that year flooding back, and will leave Trond even more convinced of his decision to end his days alone. The novel was nominated by Deichmanske Bibliotek, Oslo, Norway and Solvberget KF-Stavanger Bibliotek og Kulturhus, Norway. It was one of 138 novels nominated by 169 library systems in 49 countries, making the IMPAC Dublin Award truly international. ‘‘That’s the beauty of the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. It draws our attention to good books and to authors that we might otherwise never have heard about,’’ said Lord Mayor Cllr. Vincent Jackson. The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award is the largest and most international prize of its kind. The Award is a partnership between IMPAC (Improved Management Productivity and Control) and Dublin City Council and is managed by Dublin City Libraries. Petterson was born in Norway in 1952 and has written five novels including To Siberia and In the Wake. His novel Out Stealing Horses also won the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize in 2006. The other shortlisted novels were:
Previous winners of the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award are: 2006 The Master by Colm Tóibín Previous Award Recipient Orhan Pamuk wins Nobel Literature Prize
Pamuk,
one of the younger laureates, is well known and widely read. His profile is well
earned on the strength of some interesting novels, most notably My Name
is Red, his finest to date, and the work which won him the 2003 International
Impac Dublin Literary Award.
2006 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award - Winner Announced!
Tuesday 13th June 2006: Colm Tóibín is the first Irish writer to win the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. In this the 11th year of the Award, the Lord Mayor, Councillor Catherine Byrne announced that Tóibin’s novel The Master has won the €100,000 prize – the world’s richest literary prize for a single work of fiction published in English. The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award is administered by Dublin City Public Libraries and sponsored by IMPAC (Improved Management Productivity and Control) an international company with its headquarters based in Florida, USA. The Master was chosen by an international panel of judges, having been nominated by 17 libraries worldwide.
The 10 shortlisted titles included three Irish authors and were selected from a 132 novels, nominated by 180 libraries from 43 countries and from 124 cities; 32 titles were in translation, covering 15 non-English languages. The
shortlisted titles:
The
judges for 2006 were: The Master was nominated by 17 Libraries; State Library of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia, State Library of Queensland, Brisbane, Tweebronnen Openbare Bibliotheek, Leuven, Belgium, Biblioteca Luis Angel Arango, Bogota, Colombia, Cork City Libraries, Ireland, Dublin City Public Libraries, Ireland, Limerick City Library, Ireland, Dunedin Public Libraries, New Zealand, Edinburgh City Libraries & Information Services, Scotland, Cape Town Central Library, South Africa, Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton Country, Cincinnati, USA, Hartford Public Library, USA, Kansas City Public Library, USA, Minneapolis Public Library, USA, Free Library of Philadelphia, USA, San José Public Library, USA, Lincoln Library, Springfield, USA Previous winners
of the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award are |
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Copyright
© 2007 Dublin City Public Libraries
Turkish
author Orhan Pamuk has won the Nobel Prize for Literature. 
Colm
Tóibín's The Master wins the 2006 International IMPAC Dublin
Literary Award
“It’s
an honour to present such a fine writer as Colm Tóibín, with the
International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award - the largest and most international
prize of its kind”, says Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Catherine Byrne. “Libraries
from all corners of the globe nominate entries and the Award is open to books
written in any language. The Award is a Dublin City Council initiative and a partnership
between Dublin City Council and IMPAC, a productivity improvement company operating
in over 50 countries. The Award is administered by Dublin City Public Libraries”.
Judges’
comment: “In The Master, Colm Tóibín captures the exquisite
anguish of a man who circulated in the grand parlours and palazzos of Europe,
who was astonishingly alive and vibrant in his art, and yet whose attempts at
intimacy inevitably failed him and those he tried to love. It is a powerful account
of the hazards of putting the life of the mind before affairs of the heart.