Book Awards set to become final word on literature titles
The shortlist for the inaugural Irish Book Awards has just been announced - three separate categories, with six authors shortlisted in each category and the winners to be announced at a gala awards ceremony in March - and includes some heavyweight names.
Each of the categories - Irish Novel of the Year; Irish Non-fiction Book of the Year; and Irish Children’s Book of the Year - has some very strong candidates, including Booker winner John Banville for Novel of the Year, John McGahern for the non-fiction award and children’s Whitbread prize winner Kate Thompson in the children’s book category.
With a prize fund of €10,000 for the novel of the year (and €7,500 and €5,000 for the other categories, respectively), it might not have the financial clout of the other Irish literary award, the IMPAC award (with a €100,000 pot), but the fact that entry is restricted to Irish authors means it has a better chance of capturing the public imagination.
Indeed, Banville, speaking earlier in the year comparing the IMPAC to the Booker, said that the former would not help him to sell a single additional copy were he to win it, but the Booker can generate huge subsequent sales even for those who just make the shortlist.
While awards ceremonies thrive on shock, it would be quite stunning if any of the racing favourites in each category were to come a cropper at the final fence, but in the future the Irish reading public are likely to embrace a domestic competition which covers a very broad sphere of reading interests.
