DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL has announced this year’s shortlist of six novels for the Dublin Literary Awards, the world’s most valuable annual prize for a single work of fiction published in English.

The winning writer will receive €100,000. If the book has been translated the author receives €75,000 and the translator receives €25,000.

This year’s shortlist includes four novels in translation, from Croatian, French, Spanish, and German. 

No Irish authors were selected for the final six this year, however three Irish authors made it to the ‘longlist’ of 70 books nominated for the award by libraries around the world.

The shortlisted titles are:

• Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr (American).
• The Trees by Percival Everett (American).
• Paradais by Fernanda Melchor (Mexican) translated from Spanish by Sophie Hughes.
• Marzahn, Mon Amour by Katja Oskamp (German) translated from German by Jo Heinrich.
• Love Novel by Ivana Sajko (Croatian) translated from Croatian by Mima Simić.
• Em by Kim Thúy (Canadian-Vietnamese) translated from French by Sheila Fischman.

The #DublinLitAward Shortlist is HERE! 🎉 Congratulations Anthony Doerr, Percival Everett, Fernanda Melchor, Katja Oskamp, Ivana Sajko & Kim Thúy!

🏆 Winner announced on 25th May at @ILFDublin
Sponsored by @DubCityCouncil @dubcilib @DublinCityofLit pic.twitter.com/Va26Qgv4iC

— Dublin Literary Award (@DublinLitAward) March 27, 2023

The award’s patron Lord Mayor of Dublin, Caroline Conroy said:

“The titles on this year’s shortlist were nominated by public libraries in Hungary, Germany, Bosnia, Mexico and the USA.”

“The beauty of this award is that it highlights authors and readers worldwide while celebrating excellence in contemporary literature.  The 2023 winner will be chosen from this fascinating shortlist, which includes four novels in translation, and covers a myriad of topics including the power of books, racially-inspired hate crimes, relationships, ageing, toxic masculinity, the impact of war, and spans many settings and time periods.”

The six member international judging panel, chaired by the Seamus Heaney Professor of Irish Writing at Trinity College Dublin, Prof. Chris Morash, will select one winner.

This winning novel will be announced by Conroy on 25 May during the International Literature Festival Dublin (ILFD) in Merrion Square.

The novels will be available for readers to borrow from Dublin City Libraries and from public libraries around Ireland, and can be borrowed as eBooks and eAudiobooks on the free Borrowbox app, available to all public library users.

This year’s judging panel features Gabriel Gbadamosi, an Irish and Nigerian poet, playwright and critic based in London;Marie Hermet, a writer and translator who teaches creative writing and translation at the Université Paris Cité; English writer Sarah Moss, the author of eight novels who teaches on the MA and MFA in creative writing at UCD; Doireann Ní Ghríofa a bilingual poet, essayist and translator from Co. Clare; and Arunava Sinha who translates fiction, non-fiction and poetry from Bengali to English and from English to Bengali.

Last year, The Art of Losing by Alice Zeniter (translated from the French by Frank Wynne) won the award.

It was described by judges as following the lives of three generations of an Algerian family from the 1950s to the present day “as they progressively lose their country, their roots, and their innocence”. 

The award was lasyt won by an Irish writer in 2020 by Anna Burns for her novel Milkman.