Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2008

[Stewart]

I meant to mention this prize earlier this year but, er, didn't.

The following titles were, back in January, longlisted for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2008.

• The Yacoubian Building, Alaa al Aswany
• Book of Words, Jenny Erpenbeck
• The Moon Opera, Bi Feiyu
• Castorp, Pawel Huelle
• Agamemnon’s Daughter, Ismail Kadare
• Let It Be Morning, Sayed Kashua
• Measuring The World, Daniel Kehlmann
• Gregorius, Bengt Ohlsson
• Shutterspeed, Erwin Mortier
• The Past, Alan Pauls
• Rivers Of Babylon, Peter Pist’anek
• Delirium, Laura Restrepo
• The Model, Lars Saabye Christensen
• Bahia Blues, Yasmina Traboulsi
• The Way Of The Women, Marlene van Niekerk
• Omega Minor, Paul Verhaeghen
• Montano, Enrique Vilas-Matas

Then the shortlist was whittled down to the following six:

• Castorp, Pawel Huelle
• Measuring The World, Daniel Kehlmann
• Gregorius, Bengt Ohlsson
• The Model, Lars Saabye Christensen
• The Way Of The Women, Marlene van Niekerk
• Omega Minor, Paul Verhaeghen

It was a bit galling as I'd read three of them on the basis of the longlist and not one made it to the final six.

Prize is awarded in May, £5,000 to the author and £5,000 to the translator. Paul Verhaeghen stands to sweep the lot if he wins, since he translated his own book from Dutch to English.

 

[Stewart]

Paul Verhaeghen stands to sweep the lot if he wins, since he translated his own book from Dutch to English.

And he did win, although he didn't accept the money, preferring to donate it to the American Civil Liberties Union. You can read his full non-acceptance speech here.

 

[silverseason]

Have you read the book entitled Agamemnon's Daughter? I am curious because I just finished watching the 1977 film Iphigenia, with Irene Pappas.

 

[Stewart]

Have you read the book entitled Agamemnon's Daughter?

Yes, I have. My review is here. Not exactly enjoyable, but certainly a good and interesting read.

 

[silverseason]

Thank you, Stewart. I read the review - am undecided about the book itself.

 

[antony48]

On which site can I read about Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2008? What is it?

 

[Stewart]

On which site can I read about Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2008? What is it?

There's no specific site for it. You can read the Wikipedia page for it; or the report in he Independent.

 

[antony48]

Thanks. It is the Independent to honour fiction in translation in the United Kingdom. What about US? Is the same award for the book translation in the US? I am not hear...

 

[Stewart]

Thanks. It is the Independent to honour fiction in translation in the United Kingdom.

The Independent is a British newspaper, so it stands to reason their interests should be translated works published in the United Kingdom.

What about US? Is the same award for the book translation in the US?

There's nothing high profile, as far as I'm aware. That said, there is the Neustadt International Prize for Literature, which rewards, like the Nobel, a body of work. And new American publisher, Open Letter Books, has a sort of Best Translated Book (in the US) award that they run from their blog.