The International Dublin Literary Award (Irish: Duais Liteartha Idirnáisiúnta Bhaile Átha Chliath), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. It promotes excellence in world literature and is solely sponsored by Dublin City Council, Ireland. At 100,000, the award is one of the richest literary prizes in the world. If the winning book is a translation (as it has been nine times), the prize is divided between the writer and the translator, with the writer receiving €75,000 and the translator €25,000.[1] The first award was made in 1996 to David Malouf for his English-language novel Remembering Babylon.[2]

Quick Facts Awarded for, Location ...
International Dublin Literary Award
Awarded fora novel written in or translated into English
LocationDublin, Ireland
Presented byDublin City Public Libraries and Archive
Formerly calledInternational IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
Reward(s)100,000
First awarded1996
Most awards2 – Frank Wynne (translator) in 2002 and 2022
Most nominations4 – Colum McCann (author)
3 – Anne McLean (translator)
Websitewww.dublinliteraryaward.ie
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Nominations are submitted by public libraries worldwide – over 400 library systems in 177 countries worldwide are invited to nominate books each year – from which the shortlist and the eventual winner are selected by an international panel of judges (which changes each year).

Eligibility and procedure

The prize is open to novels written in any language and by authors of any nationality, provided the work has been published in English or English translation. The presentation of the award is post-dated by two years from the date of publication. Thus, to win an award in 2017, the work must have been published in 2015. If it is an English translation, the work must have been published in its original language between two and six years before its translation.[3] The scope for inclusion has been subject to criticism; according to The Irish Times journalist Eileen Battersby, "many of the titles are already well known even at the time of the publication of the long list."[4]

Dublin City Public Libraries seek nominations from 400 public libraries from major cities across the world. Libraries can apply to be considered for inclusion in the nomination process.[5] The longlist is announced in October or November of each year, and the shortlist (up to 10 titles) is announced in March or April of the following year. The longlist and shortlist are chosen by an international panel of judges which rotates each year. Allen Weinstein was the non-voting chair of the panel from 1996 to 2003. As of 2017, the former Chief Judge of the US Court of Appeals, Eugene R. Sullivan, is the non-voting chair.[6] The winner of the award is announced each June.[3]

History

The award was established in 1994 as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, a joint initiative of Dublin City Council and the American productivity company IMPAC, which had its European headquarters in Dublin.[7] James Irwin, president of IMPAC, established the prize money at €100,000. A trust fund was established to pay for the award and its maintenance. The award has been administered by Dublin City Public Libraries since its inception. IMPAC went defunct in the late-2000s when its founder and president James Irwin died in 2009.[7] In late 2013, the trust fund became exhausted and there was no money left to run the award.[7] The council agreed to step in and continue funding the award under the same brand name of the now-defunct company while seeking a new sponsor.[7] It was reported that the council paid €100,000 for the prize plus €80,250 in administration costs in 2015.[7] The award was subsequently renamed the International DUBLIN Literary Award in November 2015.

Describing the award as "the most eclectic and unpredictable of the literary world's annual gongs", the journalist Michelle Pauli posed the question in relation to the longlist for the 2004 edition: "Where would you find Michael Dobbs and Tony Parsons up against Umberto Eco and Milan Kundera for a €100,000 prize?"[8]

Winners and shortlists

1990s

More information Year, Author ...
International Dublin Literary Award winners and finalists, 1996–1999
Year Author Title Result Ref.
1996 David Malouf Remembering Babylon Winner [2]
John Banville Ghosts Shortlist
V. S. Naipaul A Way in the World Shortlist
Cees Nooteboom (translated from Dutch by Ina Rilke) The Following Story Shortlist
Connie Palmen The Laws Shortlist
José Saramago (translated from Portuguese by Giovanni Pontiero) The Gospel According to Jesus Christ Shortlist
Jane Urquhart Away Shortlist
1997 Javier Marías (translated from Spanish by Margaret Jull Costa) A Heart So White Winner [9]
Sherman Alexie Reservation Blues Shortlist
Lars Gustafsson (translated from Swedish by Tom Geddes) A Tiler's Afternoon Shortlist
Dương Thu Hương (translated from Vietnamese by Phan Huy Duong and Nina McPherson) Novel Without a Name Shortlist
Rohinton Mistry A Fine Balance Shortlist
Antonio Tabucchi (translated from Italian by Patrick Creagh) Pereira Maintains Shortlist
A. J. Verdelle The Good Negress Shortlist
Alan Warner Morvern Callar Shortlist
1998 Herta Müller (translated from German by Michael Hofmann) The Land of Green Plums Winner [10]
Margaret Atwood Alias Grace Shortlist [11]
André Brink Imaginings of Sand Shortlist [11]
David Dabydeen The Counting House Shortlist [11]
David Foster The Glade Within the Grove Shortlist [11]
Jamaica Kincaid Autobiography of my Mother Shortlist [11]
Earl Lovelace Salt Shortlist [11]
Lawrence Norfolk The Pope's Rhinoceros Shortlist [11]
Graham Swift Last Orders Shortlist [11]
Guy Vanderhaeghe The Englishman's Boy Shortlist [11]
1999 Andrew Miller Ingenious Pain Winner [12]
Jim Crace Quarantine Shortlist
Don DeLillo Underworld Shortlist
Francisco Goldman The Ordinary Seaman Shortlist
Ian McEwan Enduring Love Shortlist
Haruki Murakami (translated from Japanese by Jay Rubin) The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle Shortlist
Cynthia Ozick The Puttermesser Papers Shortlist
Bernhard Schlink (translated from German by Carol Brown Janeway) The Reader Shortlist
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2000s

More information Year, Author ...
International Dublin Literary Award winners and finalists, 2000–2009
Year Author Title Result Ref.
2000 Nicola Barker Wide Open Winner [10]
Michael Cunningham The Hours Shortlist
Jackie Kay Trumpet Shortlist
Colum McCann This Side of Brightness Shortlist
Alice McDermott Charming Billy Shortlist
Toni Morrison Paradise Shortlist
Philip Roth I Married a Communist Shortlist
2001 Alistair MacLeod No Great Mischief Winner [13][14]
Margaret Cezair-Thompson The True History of Paradise Shortlist
Silvia Molina (translated from Spanish by David Unger) The Love You Promised Me Shortlist
Andrew O'Hagan Our Fathers Shortlist
Victor Pelevin (translated from Russian by Andrew Bromfield) Buddha's Little Finger Shortlist
Colm Tóibín The Blackwater Lightship Shortlist
2002 Michel Houellebecq (translated from French by Frank Wynne) Atomised Winner [15]
Margaret Atwood The Blind Assassin Shortlist
Peter Carey True History of the Kelly Gang Shortlist
Michael Collins The Keepers of Truth Shortlist
Helen DeWitt The Last Samurai Shortlist
Carlos Fuentes (translated from Spanish by Alfred MacAdam) The Years with Laura Diaz Shortlist
Antoni Libera (translated from Polish by Agnieszka Kolakowska) Madame Shortlist
2003 Orhan Pamuk (translated from Turkish by Erdağ Göknar) My Name Is Red Winner [4]
Dennis Bock The Ash Garden Shortlist
Achmat Dangor Bitter Fruit Shortlist
Per Olov Enquist (translated from Swedish by Tiina Nunnally) The Visit of the Royal Physician Shortlist
Jonathan Franzen The Corrections Shortlist
Lídia Jorge (translated from Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa) The Migrant Painter of Birds Shortlist
John McGahern That They May Face the Rising Sun Shortlist
Ann Patchett Bel Canto Shortlist
2004 Tahar Ben Jelloun (translated from French by Linda Coverdale) This Blinding Absence of Light Winner [16][17]
Paul Auster The Book of Illusions Shortlist
William Boyd Any Human Heart Shortlist
Sandra Cisneros Caramelo Shortlist
Jeffrey Eugenides Middlesex Shortlist
Maggie Gee The White Family Shortlist
Amin Maalouf (translated from French by Barbara Bray) Balthasar's Odyssey Shortlist
Rohinton Mistry Family Matters Shortlist
Atiq Rahimi (translated from Persian by Erdağ Göknar) Earth and Ashes Shortlist
Olga Tokarczuk (translated from Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones) House of Day, House of Night Shortlist
2005 Edward P. Jones The Known World Winner [18][19]
Diane Awerbuck Gardening at Night Shortlist
Lars Saabye Christensen (translated from Norwegian by Kenneth Steven) The Half Brother Shortlist
Damon Galgut The Good Doctor Shortlist
Douglas Glover Elle Shortlist
Arnon Grunberg (translated from Dutch by Sam Garrett) Phantom Pain Shortlist
Shirley Hazzard The Great Fire Shortlist
Christoph Hein (translated from German by Philip Boehm) Willenbrock Shortlist
Frances Itani Deafening Shortlist
Jonathan Lethem The Fortress of Solitude Shortlist
2006 Colm Tóibín The Master Winner [20]
Chris Abani GraceLand Shortlist
Nadeem Aslam Maps for Lost Lovers Shortlist
Ronan Bennett Havoc in Its Third Year Shortlist
Jonathan Coe The Closed Circle Shortlist
Jens Christian Grøndahl (translated from Danish by Anne Born) An Altered Light Shortlist
Yasmina Khadra (translated from French by John Cullen) The Swallows of Kabul Shortlist [21]
Vyvyane Loh Breaking the Tongue Shortlist
Margaret Mazzantini (translated from Italian by John Cullen) Don't Move Shortlist [21]
Thomas Wharton The Logogryph Shortlist
2007 Per Petterson (translated from Norwegian by Anne Born) Out Stealing Horses Winner [22][23]
Julian Barnes Arthur & George Shortlist
Sebastian Barry A Long Long Way Shortlist
J. M. Coetzee Slow Man Shortlist
Jonathan Safran Foer Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Shortlist
Peter Hobbs The Short Day Dying Shortlist
Cormac McCarthy No Country for Old Men Shortlist
Salman Rushdie Shalimar the Clown Shortlist
2008 Rawi Hage De Niro's Game Winner [12][24]
Javier Cercas (translated from Spanish by Anne McLean) The Speed of Light Shortlist
Yasmine Gooneratne The Sweet & Simple Kind Shortlist
Gail Jones Dreams of Speaking Shortlist
Sayed Kashua (translated from Hebrew by Miriam Shlesinger) Let It Be Morning Shortlist
Yasmina Khadra (translated from French by John Cullen) The Attack Shortlist
Andreï Makine (translated from French by Geoffrey Strachan) The Woman Who Waited Shortlist
Patrick McCabe Winterwood Shortlist
2009 Michael Thomas Man Gone Down Winner [12][25]
Junot Díaz The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Shortlist [26][25]
Jean Echenoz (translated from French by Linda Coverdale) Ravel Shortlist [26][25]
Mohsin Hamid The Reluctant Fundamentalist Shortlist [26][25]
Travis Holland The Archivist's Story Shortlist [26][25]
Roy Jacobsen (translated from Norwegian by Don Shaw and Don Bartlett) The Burnt-Out Town of Miracles Shortlist [26][25]
David Leavitt The Indian Clerk Shortlist [26][25]
Indra Sinha Animal's People Shortlist [26][25]
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2010s

More information Year, Author ...
International Dublin Literary Award winners and finalists, 2010–2019
Year Author Title Result Ref.
2010 Gerbrand Bakker (translated from Dutch by David Colmer) The Twin Winner [27][28]
Muriel Barbery (translated from French by Alison Anderson) The Elegance of the Hedgehog Shortlist
Robert Edric In Zodiac Light Shortlist
Christoph Hein (translated from German by Philip Boehm) Settlement Shortlist
Zoë Heller The Believers Shortlist
Joseph O'Neill Netherland Shortlist [27]
Ross Raisin God's Own Country Shortlist
Marilynne Robinson Home Shortlist [27]
2011 Colum McCann Let the Great World Spin Winner [29][30]
Michael Crummey Galore Shortlist
Barbara Kingsolver The Lacuna Shortlist
Yiyun Li The Vagrants Shortlist
David Malouf Ransom Shortlist
Joyce Carol Oates Little Bird of Heaven Shortlist
Craig Silvey Jasper Jones Shortlist
Colm Tóibín Brooklyn Shortlist
William Trevor Love and Summer Shortlist
Evie Wyld After the Fire, A Still Small Voice Shortlist
2012 Jon McGregor Even the Dogs Winner [31][32][30]
Jon Bauer Rocks in the Belly Shortlist
David Bergen The Matter with Morris Shortlist
Jennifer Egan A Visit from the Goon Squad Shortlist
Aminatta Forna The Memory of Love Shortlist
Karl Marlantes Matterhorn Shortlist
Tim Pears Landed Shortlist
Yishai Sarid (translated from Hebrew by Barbara Harshav) Limassol Shortlist
Cristóvão Tezza (translated from Portuguese by Alison Entrekin) The Eternal Son Shortlist
Willy Vlautin Lean on Pete Shortlist
2013 Kevin Barry City of Bohane Winner [33][30][34]
Michel Houellebecq (translated from French by Gavin Bowd) The Map and the Territory Shortlist
Andrew Miller Pure Shortlist
Haruki Murakami (translated from Japanese by Jay Rubin and Philip Gabriel) 1Q84 Shortlist
Julie Otsuka The Buddha in the Attic Shortlist
Arthur Phillips The Tragedy of Arthur Shortlist
Karen Russell Swamplandia! Shortlist
Sjón (translated from Icelandic by Victoria Cribb) From the Mouth of the Whale Shortlist
Kjersti Annesdatter Skomsvold (translated from Norwegian by Kerri Pierce) The Faster I Walk, the Smaller I Am Shortlist
Tommy Wieringa (translated from Dutch by Sam Garrett) Caesarion Shortlist [35]
2014 Juan Gabriel Vásquez (translated from Spanish by Anne McLean) The Sound of Things Falling Winner [30][36]
Gerbrand Bakker (translated from Dutch by David Colmer) The Detour Shortlist [30]
Michelle de Kretser Questions of Travel Shortlist [30]
Tan Twan Eng The Garden of Evening Mists Shortlist [30]
Patrick Flanery Absolution Shortlist [30]
Karl Ove Knausgård (translated from Norwegian by Don Bartlett) A Death in the Family Shortlist [30]
Marie NDiaye (translated from French by John Fletcher) Three Strong Women Shortlist [30]
Andrés Neuman (translated from Spanish by Nick Caistor and Lorenza Garcia) Traveller of the Century Shortlist [30]
David Park The Light of Amsterdam Shortlist [30]
Donal Ryan The Spinning Heart Shortlist [30]
2015 Jim Crace Harvest Winner [37][38]
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Americanah Shortlist [39]
Mahi Binebine (translated from French by Lulu Norman) Horses of God Shortlist [39]
Richard Flanagan The Narrow Road to the Deep North Shortlist [39]
Hannah Kent Burial Rites Shortlist [39]
Bernardo Kucinski (translated from Portuguese by Sue Branford) K Shortlist [39]
Andreï Makine (translated from French by Geoffrey Strachan) Brief Loves That Live Forever Shortlist [39]
Colum McCann TransAtlantic Shortlist [39]
Alice McDermott Someone Shortlist [39]
Roxana Robinson Sparta Shortlist [39]
2016 Akhil Sharma Family Life Winner [10][40][41]
Javier Cercas (translated from Spanish by Anne McLean) Outlaws Shortlist [42]
Mary Costello Academy Street Shortlist [42]
Dave Eggers Your Fathers, Where Are They? And the Prophets, Do They Live Forever? Shortlist [42]
Jenny Erpenbeck (translated from German by Susan Bernofsky) The End of Days Shortlist [42]
Marlon James A Brief History of Seven Killings Shortlist [42]
Michel Laub (translated from Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa) Diary of the Fall Shortlist [42]
Scholastique Mukasonga (translated from French by Melanie Mauthner) Our Lady of the Nile Shortlist [42]
Jenny Offill Dept. of Speculation Shortlist [42]
Marilynne Robinson Lila Shortlist [42]
2017 José Eduardo Agualusa (translated from Portuguese by Daniel Hahn) A General Theory of Oblivion Winner [43][44]
Mia Couto (translated from Portuguese by David Brookshaw) Confession of the Lioness Shortlist [45]
Anne Enright The Green Road Shortlist [45]
Kim Leine (translated from Danish by Martin Aitken) The Prophets of Eternal Fjord Shortlist [45]
Valeria Luiselli (translated from Spanish by Christina MacSweeney) The Story of My Teeth Shortlist [45]
Viet Thanh Nguyen The Sympathizer Shortlist [45]
Chinelo Okparanta Under the Udala Trees Shortlist [45]
Orhan Pamuk (translated from Turkish by Ekin Oklap) A Strangeness in My Mind Shortlist [45]
Robert Seethaler (translated from German by Charlotte Collins) A Whole Life Shortlist [45]
Hanya Yanagihara A Little Life Shortlist [45]
2018 Mike McCormack Solar Bones Winner [46][47]
Alina Bronsky (translated from German by Tim Mohr) Baba Dunja's Last Love Shortlist [48]
Yuri Herrera (translated from Spanish by Lisa Dillman) The Transmigration of Bodies Shortlist [48]
Roy Jacobsen (translated from Norwegian by Don Bartlett and Don Shaw) The Unseen Shortlist [48]
Han Kang (translated from Korean by Deborah Smith) Human Acts Shortlist [48]
Eimear McBride The Lesser Bohemians Shortlist [48]
Antonio Moresco (translated from Italian by Richard Dixon) Distant Light Shortlist [48]
Marie NDiaye (translated from French by Jordan Stump) Ladivine Shortlist [48]
Yewande Omotoso The Woman Next Door Shortlist [48][49]
Elizabeth Strout My Name Is Lucy Barton Shortlist [48]
2019 Emily Ruskovich Idaho Winner [50][51]
Mathias Énard (translated from French by Charlotte Mandell) Compass Shortlist [52]
Emily Fridlund History of Wolves Shortlist [52]
Mohsin Hamid Exit West Shortlist [52]
Bernard MacLaverty Midwinter Break Shortlist [52]
Jon McGregor Reservoir 13 Shortlist [52]
Sally Rooney Conversations with Friends Shortlist [52]
George Saunders Lincoln in the Bardo Shortlist [52]
Rachel Seiffert A Boy in Winter Shortlist [52]
Kamila Shamsie Home Fire Shortlist [52]
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2020s

More information Year, Author ...
International Dublin Literary Award winners and Shortlists, 2020–present
Year Author Title Result Ref.
2020 Anna Burns Milkman Winner
Pat Barker The Silence of the Girls Shortlist [53]
Négar Djavadi (translated from French by Tina Kover) Disoriental Shortlist [53]
Esi Edugyan Washington Black Shortlist [53]
Tayari Jones An American Marriage Shortlist [53]
Édouard Louis (translated from French by Lorin Stein) History of Violence Shortlist [53]
Sigrid Nunez The Friend Shortlist [53]
Tommy Orange There There Shortlist [53]
Anuradha Roy All the Lives We Never Lived Shortlist [53]
Olga Tokarczuk (translated from Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones) Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead Shortlist [53]
2021 Valeria Luiselli Lost Children Archive Winner [54]
Bernardine Evaristo Girl, Woman, Other Shortlist [55][56]
Colum McCann Apeirogon Shortlist [55][56]
Fernanda Melchor (translated from Spanish by Sophie Hughes) Hurricane Season Shortlist [55][56]
Ocean Vuong On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous Shortlist [55][56]
Colson Whitehead The Nickel Boys Shortlist [55][56]
2022 Alice Zeniter (translated from French by Frank Wynne) The Art of Losing Winner [57]
Catherine Chidgey Remote Sympathy Shortlist [58][59]
David Diop (translated from French by Anna Moschovakis) At Night All Blood Is Black Shortlist [58][59]
Akwaeke Emezi The Death of Vivek Oji Shortlist [58][59]
Danielle McLaughlin The Art of Falling Shortlist [58][59]
Leanne Betasamosake Simpson Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies Shortlist [58][59]
2023 Katja Oskamp (translated from German by Jo Heinrich) Marzahn, Mon Amour Winner [60]
Anthony Doerr Cloud Cuckoo Land Shortlist [61]
Percival Everett The Trees Shortlist [61]
Fernanda Melchor (translated from Spanish by Sophie Hughes) Paradais Shortlist [61]
Ivana Sajko (translated from Croatian by Mima Simic) Love Novel Shortlist [61]
Kim Thuy (translated from French by Sheila Fischman) Em Shortlist [61]
2024 Mircea Cărtărescu (translated from Romanian by Sean Cotter) Solenoid Winner [62][63]
Sebastian Barry Old God's Time Shortlist [64]
Emma Donoghue Haven Shortlist [64]
Jonathan Escoffery If I Survive You Shortlist [64]
Suzette Mayr The Sleeping Car Porter Shortlist [64]
Alexis Wright Praiseworthy Shortlist [64]
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  • debut novel

Wins by language

More information Total, Language ...
Total Language Years
17 English 1996, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
3 French 2002, 2004, 2022
2 Spanish 1997, 2014
2 German 1998, 2023
1 Turkish 2003
1 Norwegian 2007
1 Dutch 2010
1 Portuguese 2017
1 Romanian 2024
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References

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