Shortlist for 2010 IMPAC Award announced

The shortlist for the 2010 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award was announced by The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr. Emer Costello on April 12th. The shortlist of 8 titles was selected from a total of 156 novels nominated by 163 public library systems in 123 cities worldwide. The 2010 shortlist is a real mix of books. Some of them are very well known and have already received awards; two are first novels and three are translated titles. The shortlisted titles are
The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker
The Elegance Of The Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
In Zodiac Light by Robert Edric
Settlement by Christoph Hein
The Believers by Zoe Heller
Netherland by Joseph O'Neill
God's Own Country by Ross Raisin
Home by Marilynne Robinson.
Netherland by Joseph O’Neill appeared on the Man Booker Prize longlist of 2008 and got a huge boost when President Obama mentioned that he was reading it. Marilynne Robinson’s Home would appear to be the favourite to take the prize. Home has already won the 2009 Orange Prize for Fiction. Robinson also won the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for her novel Gilead.The Believers is Zoe Heller’s third novel. Notes on a Scandal was very highly regarded and made the shortlist for the 2003 Booker prize. Robert Edric’s books have been nominated for the Booker prize on two occasions. The two first novels on the shortlist are The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker and God’s Own Country by Ross Raisin. The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker is translated from the original Dutch. The Elegance Of The Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery is translated from French. Settlement by Christoph Hein is a translation of the original German publication. The award is the largest literary prize worldwide with a value of €100,000. 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 as an English translation. The nomination process for the Award is unique as nominations are made by libraries in capital and major cities throughout the world. Writing in The Irish Times Eileen Battersby says "This year’s judges of the Impac prize were provided with literary gold-dust in the books selected by library readers – and for the most part, they have produced a shortlist reflecting that quality". She says that the presence of novels in translation has always been the strength of the Impac, and its ability to introduce readers to outstanding foreign fiction is the major achievement of the award. The five member judging panel will select the winner which will be announced on Thursday June 17th 2010. See www.impacdublinaward.ie/ for more information.