Yewande Omotoso’s novel The Woman Next Door has made the Dublin Literary Award 2018 shortlist announced on April 5, 2018.
The International Dublin Literary Award, worth €100,000, is presented each year for a novel written in English or translated into English to promote excellence in world literature. If the winning book is a translation the prize is divided between the writer and the translator, with the writer receiving €75,000 and the translator €25,000. The first award was made in 1996 to David Malouf for his novel Remembering Babylon; the most recent went to Angolan author José Eduardo Agualusa for A General Theory of Oblivion.
The judging panel for 2018 comprises Chinese British novelist, essayist and filmmaker Xiaolu Guo; translator and co-Chair of the Translators Association Nicky Harman; novelist and associate lecturer in creative writing at the University of Westminster Courttia Newland; Malawian author and Reader in English and Humanities at Birkbeck, University of London Mpalive Msiska and, Irish poet and Senior Lecturer at the University of Manchester Vona Groarke. The non-voting Chairperson is US Judge, Eugene R. Sullivan.
In November, this panel announced the longlist of those in the running for one of the richest prizes in world literature which included five Africans. They were Mohale Mashigo for The Yearning, Nthikeng Mohlele for Pleasure, Yaa Gyasi for Homegoing, Imbolo Mbue for Behold The Dreamers, and Yewande Omotoso for The Woman Next Door.
The shortlist was made public earlier today and only one of the five made the cut; Yewande Omotoso. The Woman Next Door is a wonderful novel that features two senior citizens of two different races in South Africa who have a hate-hate relationship. It has been well received by the award committees making the Bailey’s Prize longlist and the University of Johannesburg shortlist. It has not won any major prize yet and this would be a good a time as any to start we opine.
The winner will be announced on June 13, 2018.
Leave a Reply