Sole Irish writer on €100,000 award shortlist

Ten novels have been shortlisted for the 2016 International Dublin Literary Award.

They include Academy Street by Irish author Mary Costello, as well as four novels in translation from Brazil, France, Germany, and Spain, and novels from India, Jamaica, and the US.

Running since 1995 and formerly known as the Impac award, the prestigious prize is now sponsored by Dublin City Council and managed by Dublin City Libraries.

Worth €100,000 to the winner, it remains the world’s most valuable annual literary award for a single work of fiction published in English.

“The titles on this year’s shortlist were nominated by public libraries in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Ireland, Jamaica, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK, and the USA”, said Lord Mayor Críona Ní Dhálaigh, patron of the award.

“This is the beauty of this award. It reaches out to readers and authors worldwide while also celebrating excellence in contemporary Irish literature represented on the 2016 shortlist by Mary Costello.”

The 2016 winner will be chosen on June 9 from the shortlist which includes five women writers.

“While many of the stories reflect contemporary themes, they bring us characters facing timeless challenges of love and loss, of innocence and isolation. These engaging stories are set against contrasting landscapes which include Brazil, India, and Rwanda,” said Margaret Hayes, Dublin City librarian.

Meanwhile, Irish writers Lisa McInerney and Anne Enright have been included on the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction shortlist, for The Glorious Heresies and The Green Road respectively.