(Note that five translated Asian books were longlisted for the prize this year. See our longlist announcement here and the shortlist announcement here.)
Booktrust is delighted to announce the launch of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2011. The Prize honours the best work of fiction by a living author, which has been translated into English from any other language and published in the United Kingdom during 2010. Uniquely, the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize gives the winning author and translator equal status: each receives £5,000.
Submissions for the 2011 Prize – which can be novels or single author short story collections – are now being accepted and will close on September 30. A longlist will be announced in March 2011, followed by the shortlist in April. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in Central London in May.
The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize was first awarded in 1990 to Orhan Pamuk and translator Victoria Holbrook for The White Castle. The Prize ran until 1995 and was then revived with the support of the Arts Council in 2000, who continue to fund the award. Earlier this year, the 2010 prize was won by Phillippe Claudel and translator John Cullen for Brodeck's Report (MacLehose Press).
Booktrust have taken over the administration of the Prize and are well placed to celebrate and broaden readers' awareness of foreign fiction having launched the Translated Fiction website – www.translatedfiction.org.uk – in 2007. The site provides a wealth of information about translated fiction, from books and authors to publishers and events. Booktrust manages and promotes a wide range of prizes, awards and campaigns to celebrate excellence in contemporary literature for all ages.
Boyd Tonkin, Literary Editor at The Independent and IFFP judge said:
"Since its revival in 2001, the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize has helped to open readers' eyes, to broaden publishers' horizons, and to give a new place in the sun to the art of translation in Britain. We still have a long way to go before Britain matches its main European neighbours in the welcome it gives to fiction in translation. Yet the Prize has significantly contributed to a change in the literary weather. Books from other languages can now top our bestseller charts; they provoke discussion, reach new audiences, and win new friends to a degree that simply did not happen a decade ago. So the Prize confidently starts another decade dedicated to proving that, in literature as much as any other sphere, Britain is - and should be - open for business from all over the world."
Antonia Byatt, Director, Literature, Arts Council England said:
"Arts Council England's funding of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize is one of the most important and effective ways we support fiction in translation. Over its ten-year history the prize has developed the profile of fiction in translation, giving recognition to the art of both writing and translation, and giving readers across the country access to the best in world fiction."
Viv Bird, Chief Executive of Booktrust said:
"We are extremely proud to be able to expand our work with translated fiction by working on the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. This Prize is so special because as well as supporting authors it crucially also supports the publishers who commit themselves to publishing translated books in a highly competitive market. It also celebrates the translators – the unsung heroes of contemporary literature – whose intelligence and creativity render into English novels that deserve to be read all over the world."
For press enquiries, please contact Will White on will.white@booktrust.org.uk or 0208 875 4583
For further information on the award and for application materials, please contact Simon Richardson on simon.richardson@booktrust.org.uk or
More information here.
Booktrust is delighted to announce the launch of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2011. The Prize honours the best work of fiction by a living author, which has been translated into English from any other language and published in the United Kingdom during 2010. Uniquely, the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize gives the winning author and translator equal status: each receives £5,000.
Submissions for the 2011 Prize – which can be novels or single author short story collections – are now being accepted and will close on September 30. A longlist will be announced in March 2011, followed by the shortlist in April. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in Central London in May.
The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize was first awarded in 1990 to Orhan Pamuk and translator Victoria Holbrook for The White Castle. The Prize ran until 1995 and was then revived with the support of the Arts Council in 2000, who continue to fund the award. Earlier this year, the 2010 prize was won by Phillippe Claudel and translator John Cullen for Brodeck's Report (MacLehose Press).
Booktrust have taken over the administration of the Prize and are well placed to celebrate and broaden readers' awareness of foreign fiction having launched the Translated Fiction website – www.translatedfiction.org.uk – in 2007. The site provides a wealth of information about translated fiction, from books and authors to publishers and events. Booktrust manages and promotes a wide range of prizes, awards and campaigns to celebrate excellence in contemporary literature for all ages.
Boyd Tonkin, Literary Editor at The Independent and IFFP judge said:
"Since its revival in 2001, the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize has helped to open readers' eyes, to broaden publishers' horizons, and to give a new place in the sun to the art of translation in Britain. We still have a long way to go before Britain matches its main European neighbours in the welcome it gives to fiction in translation. Yet the Prize has significantly contributed to a change in the literary weather. Books from other languages can now top our bestseller charts; they provoke discussion, reach new audiences, and win new friends to a degree that simply did not happen a decade ago. So the Prize confidently starts another decade dedicated to proving that, in literature as much as any other sphere, Britain is - and should be - open for business from all over the world."
Antonia Byatt, Director, Literature, Arts Council England said:
"Arts Council England's funding of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize is one of the most important and effective ways we support fiction in translation. Over its ten-year history the prize has developed the profile of fiction in translation, giving recognition to the art of both writing and translation, and giving readers across the country access to the best in world fiction."
Viv Bird, Chief Executive of Booktrust said:
"We are extremely proud to be able to expand our work with translated fiction by working on the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. This Prize is so special because as well as supporting authors it crucially also supports the publishers who commit themselves to publishing translated books in a highly competitive market. It also celebrates the translators – the unsung heroes of contemporary literature – whose intelligence and creativity render into English novels that deserve to be read all over the world."
For press enquiries, please contact Will White on will.white@booktrust.org.uk or 0208 875 4583
For further information on the award and for application materials, please contact Simon Richardson on simon.richardson@booktrust.org.uk or
More information here.
