Bi Feiyu was today announced the winner of the 2010 Man Asian Literary Prize for his novel Three Sisters.
Bi, was named the winner at a black tie prize dinner at the Peninsula Hotel, Hong Kong, receiving a cash award of USD$30,000. The novel’s translators Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Li-chun Lin will share a cash prize of USD$5,000.
The author becomes the third Chinese writer to win the Prize in its four year history. The three winning novels by Chinese authors have all been translated by Howard Goldblatt.
The winner said, “I am extremely honoured to receive the Man Asian Literary Prize tonight. Although this is a young prize, I now believe that in a very short time it will become a very important prize in Asia. I expect that it will be taken very seriously by all serious writers in Asia.”
The three distinguished judges for this year’s Prize were Monica Ali, Homi K. Bhabha and Hsu-Ming Teo. The full shortlist of five books were:
Three Sisters by Bi Feiyu
Serious Men by Manu Joseph
The Thing About Thugs by Tabish Khair
The Changeling by Kenzaburo Oe
Hotel Iris by Yoko Ogawa
Commenting on Three Sisters, the judges said the novel was, “A moving exploration of Chinese family and village life during the Cultural Revolution, that moves seamlessly between the epic and the intimate, the heroic and the petty, illuminating not only individual lives but an entire society, within a gripping tale of familial conflict and love.”
Professor David Parker, Chair of the Board of Directors of the MALP, said, "In its understanding of women trapped by the petty cruelties of provincial life, Three Sisters reaches the heights of the great Russian play its title echoes”
The Prize Dinner was attended by over 100 guests, including Mr. Peter Clarke, Chief Executive of Man Group Plc and Mr. Raymond Young, Hong Kong Permanant Secretary for Home Affairs.
This is the first time the MALP has been awarded to a published novel, having previously only been awarded to an unpublished manuscript. Previous winners of the MALP are Jiang Rong, Wolf Totem (China, 2007), Miguel Syjuco, Ilustrado (Phlippines, 2008) and Su Tong, The Boat to Redemption (China, 2009).
A total of 54 works from all over Asia were submitted this year, with a longlist of 10 novels being announced in December 2010. The shortlist was announced this February. Submissions for the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize open in May.
Bi, was named the winner at a black tie prize dinner at the Peninsula Hotel, Hong Kong, receiving a cash award of USD$30,000. The novel’s translators Howard Goldblatt and Sylvia Li-chun Lin will share a cash prize of USD$5,000.
The author becomes the third Chinese writer to win the Prize in its four year history. The three winning novels by Chinese authors have all been translated by Howard Goldblatt.
The winner said, “I am extremely honoured to receive the Man Asian Literary Prize tonight. Although this is a young prize, I now believe that in a very short time it will become a very important prize in Asia. I expect that it will be taken very seriously by all serious writers in Asia.”
The three distinguished judges for this year’s Prize were Monica Ali, Homi K. Bhabha and Hsu-Ming Teo. The full shortlist of five books were:
Three Sisters by Bi Feiyu
Serious Men by Manu Joseph
The Thing About Thugs by Tabish Khair
The Changeling by Kenzaburo Oe
Hotel Iris by Yoko Ogawa
Commenting on Three Sisters, the judges said the novel was, “A moving exploration of Chinese family and village life during the Cultural Revolution, that moves seamlessly between the epic and the intimate, the heroic and the petty, illuminating not only individual lives but an entire society, within a gripping tale of familial conflict and love.”
Professor David Parker, Chair of the Board of Directors of the MALP, said, "In its understanding of women trapped by the petty cruelties of provincial life, Three Sisters reaches the heights of the great Russian play its title echoes”
The Prize Dinner was attended by over 100 guests, including Mr. Peter Clarke, Chief Executive of Man Group Plc and Mr. Raymond Young, Hong Kong Permanant Secretary for Home Affairs.
This is the first time the MALP has been awarded to a published novel, having previously only been awarded to an unpublished manuscript. Previous winners of the MALP are Jiang Rong, Wolf Totem (China, 2007), Miguel Syjuco, Ilustrado (Phlippines, 2008) and Su Tong, The Boat to Redemption (China, 2009).
A total of 54 works from all over Asia were submitted this year, with a longlist of 10 novels being announced in December 2010. The shortlist was announced this February. Submissions for the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize open in May.
