Emezi, Braithwaite, Iweala make 2020 Dublin Award longlist

Nigeria’s Akwaeke Emezi, Oyinkan Braithwaite, and Uzodinma Iweala have made the 2020 Dublin International Literary Award longlist for their books, ‘Freshwater’, ‘My Sister, The Serial Killer’, and ‘Speak No Evil’ respectively. Other Africans on the list are Gaël Faye, for ‘Small Country’, Leïla Slimani, ‘Lullaby’, translated from the French by Sam Taylor, Esi Edugyan, ‘Washington […]

Nigeria’s Akwaeke Emezi, Oyinkan Braithwaite, and Uzodinma Iweala have made the 2020 Dublin International Literary Award longlist for their books, ‘Freshwater’, ‘My Sister, The Serial Killer’, and ‘Speak No Evil’ respectively.

Other Africans on the list are Gaël Faye, for ‘Small Country’, Leïla Slimani, ‘Lullaby’, translated from the French by Sam Taylor, Esi Edugyan, ‘Washington Black’, Ondjaki, ‘Transparent City’, translated from the Portuguese by Stephen Henighan, Mia Couto, ‘Woman of the Ashes’, translated from the Portuguese by David Brookshaw, Nozizwe Cynthia Jele, ‘The Ones With Purpose’, Ijangolet S Ogwang, ‘An Image in a Mirror’, and Sue Nyathi, ‘The Gold Diggers’.

In the running for the 2020 award, 156 books were nominated by libraries around the world, including 50 novels in translation with works nominated by libraries from 40 countries in Africa, Europe, Asia, the US, Canada, South America, Australia and New Zealand.

The 2020 international Judging Panel comprises 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.

The Dublin International Literary Award is presented annually for a novel written in English or translated into English to promote excellence in world literature. The prize is worth €100,000 and is sponsored by the Dublin City Council, Ireland. 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 shortlist will be announced on April 2, 2020, and the Lord Mayor of Dublin will announce the winner on June 10, 2020.