Gerbrand Bakker wins 2010 IMPAC award

A relatively unknown Dutch author, Gerbrand Bakker, has won the 2010 IMPAC Award beating off competition from well-established authors Zoe Heller and Marilynne Robinson. Bakker’s book, The Twin, was originally published in the Netherlands in 2006 and was translated into English by David Colmer in 2008. Ostensibly a novel about the Dutch countryside, The Twin is ultimately about the possibility or impossibility of taking life into one's own hands, the strange bond between family and love, and the difference between being lonely and being alone. The judging panel commented "The book convinces from first page to last. With quiet mastery the story draws in the reader. The writing is wonderful: restrained and clear, and studded with detail of farm rhythms in the cold, damp Dutch countryside. The author excels at dialogue". At a presentation in Dublin, instead of a lengthy acceptance speech, Bakker offered a musical thank you in the form of the Dutch entry to the 1994 Eurovision song contest in Dublin. The song (Where is the Sun?) did badly, scoring only four points but Bakker felt it was much better than that and saw his victory as a vindication of the Dutch entry.

The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award is organized by Dublin City Libraries, on behalf of Dublin City Council, and is sponsored by IMPAC, an international management productivity company. 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 IMPAC is unique among literary prizes because nominations come from libraries around the world. This year's nominations came from 163 libraries in 123 cities in 43 countries worldwide. This global span of nominating libraries always throws up lesser-known authors, small publishers and books in translation and represents reading tastes from a very broad range of cultures. The prize fund of €100,000 is the largest prize in the world for a single novel – the translator will receive €25,000.