[The JRB Daily] Six African authors up for world’s richest annual literary prize, the International Dublin Literary Award

Six African authors have made the longlist for the International Dublin Literary Award, the world’s most valuable annual literary prize for a single work of fiction published in English.

The award is worth €100,000, with nominations being submitted by library systems in major cities throughout the world.

South Africa’s Mohale Mashigo (The Yearning), Nthikeng Mohlele (Pleasure) and Yewande Omotoso (The Woman Next Door) have made the longlist, along with Yaa Gyasi (Homegoing), Imbolo Mbue (Behold the Dreamers) and Joseph Wanshe (Living Memories).

Mashigo and Mohlele are riding high this year, having recently been announced as the winners of the University of Johannesburg Prizes for South African Writing in English.

Omotoso’s The Women Next Door, meanwhile, was longlisted for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction and shortlisted for the Sunday Times Barry Ronge Fiction Prize and the UJ Prize.

Mashigo, Mohlele and Omotoso were nominated by the City of Cape Town Library and Information Services.

The 150 books on this year’s longlist were nominated by libraries in 111 cities and thirty-seven countries. Forty-eight are titles in translation, spanning eighteen languages, and twenty-five are debut novels.

The book that received most nominations this year is Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad, which was chosen by fifteen libraries in Belgium, Estonia, Greece, Sweden and the USA.

Nathan Hill, who is interviewed in the current issue of The JRB, is also longlisted for the award, for his bestselling debut novel The Nix.

The International Dublin Literary Award is sponsored by the Dublin City Council, the municipal government of Dublin and administered by Dublin City Public Libraries, and aims to promote excellence in world literature.

Over 400 library systems in 177 countries worldwide were invited to nominate books, and prize organisers encourage nominations from countries who have not previously nominated books for the award. Libraries interested in participating should contact the organisers for details.

The 2018 judging panel is Vona Groarke, Irish poet and Senior Lecturer at the University of Manchester; Xiaolu Guo, Chinese British novelist, essayist and filmmaker; Nicky Harman, translator and co-Chair of the Translators Association; Dr Mpalive Msiska, author and Reader in English and Humanities at Birkbeck, University of London and Courttia Newland, novelist and associate lecturer in creative writing at the University of Westminster. The non-voting Chairperson is Eugene R Sullivan.

The shortlist will be announced in April 2018 and the winner revealed on 13 June 2018.

Scroll down for the full longlist

2018 International Dublin Literary Award Longlist

TITLE                 AUTHOR
The PowerNaomi Alderman
Enchanted IslandsAllison Amend
The Red BicycleDave Anthony
13 Ways of Looking at a Fat GirlMona Awad
Britt-Marie Was Here – Translated from the original Swedish by Henning KochFredrik Backman
The Young Bride – Translated from the original Italian by Ann GoldsteinAlessandro Baricco
The Noise of TimeJulian Barnes
Days Without EndSebastian Barry
The Other EinsteinMarie Benedict
The MothersBrit Bennett
Seven Days in August – Translated from the original Norwegian by Becky L. CrookBrit Bildøen
The TerranautsTC Boyle
The Museum of YouCarys Bray
Baba Dunja’s Last Love – Translated from the original German by Tim MohrAlina Bronsky
All Things Cease to AppearElizabeth Brundage
The MuseJessie Burton
This Too Shall Pass – Translated from the original Spanish by Valerie MilesMilena Busquets
Don’t Tell Me You’re Afraid – Translated from the original Italian by Anne Milano AppelGiuseppe Catozzella
MoonglowMichael Chabon
The Wish ChildCatherine Chidgey
The GirlsEmma Cline
TransitRachel Cusk
The Extra-Terrestrial DeliverySudipta Das
Here Comes the SunNicole Dennis-Benn
The WonderEmma Donoghue
The Dark Flood RisesMargaret Drabble
The SoundSarah Drummond
The Years That FollowedCatherine Dunne
Heroes of the FrontierDave Eggers
Sudden Death – Translated from the original Spanish by Natasha WimmerÁlvaro Enrigue
LaRoseLouise Erdrich
After the LieKerry Fisher
I Am No OnePatrick Flanery
Here I AmJonathan Safran Foer
The Island of Books – Translated from the original French by Rhonda MullinsDominique Fortier
Things To Leave BehindNamita Gokhale
Dear CharlieND Gomes
The Regional Office is Under Attack!Manuel Gonzales
What Belongs to YouGarth Greenwell
Waking Lions – Translated from the original Hebrew by Sondra SilverstonAyelet Gundar-Goshen
HomegoingYaa Gyasi
This MarloweMichelle Butler Hallett
This House is Mine – Translated from the original German by Anne StokesDörte Hansen
The DryJane Harper
Like the StarlingsDiyar Harraz
Barbed Wire and Cherry BlossomsAnita Heiss
Where Love Begins – Translated from the original German by Margot Bettauer DemboJudith Hermann
The Transmigration of Bodies– Translated from the original Spanish by Lisa DillmanYuri Herrera
War and Turpentine – Translated from the original Dutch by David McKayStefan Hertmans
The NixNathan Hill
FaithfulAlice Hoffman
OnePatrick Holland
The RepentersKevin Jared Hosein
The ParcelAnosh Irani
To the Bright Edge of the WorldEowyn Ivey
The Unseen – Translated from the original Norwegian by Don Bartlett & Don ShawRoy Jacobsen
News of the WorldPaulette Jiles
Our Tiny, Useless HeartsToni Jordan
Dancing in the RainLynn Joseph
Human Acts – Translated from the original Korean by Deborah SmithHan Kang
Lilac GirlsMartha Hall Kelly
Dirt RoadJames Kelman
The Good PeopleHannah Kent
The Other Side of SilencePhilip Kerr
All Day at the MoviesFiona Kidman
Almost Everything Very Fast – Translated from the original German by Aaron KernerChristopher Kloeble
One of Us is Sleeping – Translated from the original Danish by Martin AitkenJosefine Klougart
Dear Mr. M – Translated from the original Dutch by Sam GarrettHerman Koch
Two Gentlemen on the Beach – Translated from the original German by Ruth MartinMichael Köhlmeier
MischlingAffinity Konar
None Like Her – Translated from the original Slovene by Olivia HellewellJela Krečič
The AllegationsMark Lawson
The ConjoinedJen Sookfong Lee
The Party Wall – Translated from the original French by Lazer LederhendlerCatherine Leroux
ShtumJem Lester
Death in Sunset Grove – Translated from the original Finnish by Lola RogersMinna Lindgren
Niagara MotelAshley Little
The Shelf Life of Happiness – Translated from the original Portuguese by Hillary LockeDavid Machado
An Isolated IncidentEmily Maguire
The Association of Small BombsKaran Mahajan
The River is IndigoSuleiman Manan
Thus Bad Begins – Translated from the original Spanish by Margaret Jull CostaJavier Marías
The YearningMohale Mashigo
Behold the DreamersImbolo Mbue
The Lesser BohemiansEimear McBride
Gone to DriftDiana McCaulay
Solar BonesMike McCormack
NutshellIan McEwan
The North WaterIan McGuire
I Will Send RainRae Meadows
Bricks and Mortar – Translated from the original German by Katy DerbyshireClemens Meyer
PleasureNthikeng Mohlele
FlanneryLisa Moore
Distant Light – Translated from the original Italian by Richard DixonAntonio Moresco
Ladivine – Translated from the original French by Jordan StumpMarie Ndiaye
Billy BirdEmma Neale
Five Rivers Met on a Wooded PlainBarney Norris
Lying in WaitLiz Nugent
The Woman Next DoorYewande Omotoso
Judas – Translated from the original Hebrew by Nicholas de LangeAmos Oz
Version ControlDexter Palmer
Anatomy of a SoldierHarry Parker
CommonwealthAnn Patchett
The Essex SerpentSarah Perry
La Superba – Translated from the original Dutch by Michele HutchisonIlja Leonard Pfeijffer
Black DeutschlandDarryl Pinckney
The Attempt – Translated from the original Czech by Alex ZuckerMagdaléna Platzová
Sergio Y. – Translated from the original Portuguese by Alex LaddAlexandre Vidal Porto
By GaslightSteven Price
BarkskinsAnnie Proulx
The Hill– Translated from the original Croatian by Tomislav KuzmanovićIvica Prtenjača
FreyaAnthony Quinn
The Bird Tribunal– Translated from the original Norwegian by Rosie HedgerAgnes Ravatn
Today I Learned It Was YouEdward Riche
The Museum of Modern LoveHeather Rose
The Last Half of the YearPaul Rowe
All We Shall KnowDonal Ryan
Cry, Mother Spain – Translated from the original French by Ben Faccini           Lydie Salvayre
Panorama – Translated from the original Slovene by Rawley GrauDušan Šarotar
The Tobacconist – Translated from the original German by Charlotte CollinsRobert Seethaler
Ma Belle – Translated from the original Serbian by Persida BoškovićMaja Herman Sekulić
ScytheNeal Shusterman
Why Did You Lie? – Translated from the original Icelandic by Victoria CribbYrsa Sigurdardóttir
The Black WidowDaniel Silva
The Core of the Sun – Translated from the original Finnish by Lola RogersJohanna Sinisalo
Moonstone: the boy who never was – Translated from the original Icelandic by Victoria CribbSjón
VigilAngela Slatter
The Last Painting of Sara de VosDominic Smith
Swing TimeZadie Smith
The invisible life of Ivan IsaenkoScott Stambach
Fish Have No Feet – Translated from the original Icelandic by Philip RoughtonJón Kalman Stefánsson
My Name is Lucy BartonElizabeth Strout
Mothering SundayGraham Swift
All That Man IsDavid Szalay
Do Not Say We Have NothingMadeleine Thien
Estoril – Translated from the original Serbian by Christina Pribichevich ZorićDejan Tiago-Stanković
A Gentleman in MoscowAmor Towles
The Gustav SonataRose Tremain
Reputations – Translated from the original Spanish by Anne McLeanJuan Gabriel Vásquez
The Man I Became – Translated from the original Dutch by David ColmerPeter Verhelst
The Latecomer – Translated from the original Dutch by David ColmerDimitri Verhulst
The BreakKatherena Vermette
I’ll Sell You a Dog – Translated from the original Spanish by Rosalind HarveyJuan Pablo Villalobos
Living MemoriesJoseph Wanshe
Miss JaneBrad Watson
The Underground RailroadColson Whitehead
A Beautiful Young Wife – Translated from the original Dutch by Sam GarrettTommy Wieringa
Another BrooklynJacqueline Woodson
The Lost Time AccidentsJohn Wray
Multiple Choice – Translated from the original Spanish by Megan McDowellAlejandro Zambra

This story has been updated to include Living Memories as an African title.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.Required fields are marked *