Two of Ireland’s most acclaimed celebrations of the written word have launched an exciting new partnership. From 2020 on, the recipient of the International Dublin Literary Award will be announced during ILFDublin. The International Dublin Literary Award, now in its twenty-fifth year, is the world's most valuable annual prize for a single work of fiction published in English, with the winner receiving €100,000. It is open to novels written in any language and by authors of any nationality, provided the book has been published in English or English translation. Uniquely, books are nominated by libraries in major cities throughout the world. It is sponsored solely by Dublin City Council, as is ILFDublin.

Before you join us for the award announcement at 11am coming to you from the Guinness Storehouse, Thursday 22nd October, check out International Dublin Literary Award Shortlist 2020, a new podcast series in which hosts Caelainn Hogan and Jessica Traynor interview the shortlisted writers.

156 novels were nominated for the 2020 Award, with 119 libraries taking part from 40 countries worldwide. The shortlist includes one Irish author – Anna Burns, author of Milkman, winner of the 2018 Man Booker Prize for Fiction – and three novels in translation. The shortlist is:

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker (British). Published by Hamish Hamilton Ltd.

Milkman by Anna Burns (Irish). Published by Faber & Faber and Graywolf Press.

Disoriental by Négar Djavadi (Iranian-French). Translated from the French by Tina Kover. Published by Europa Editions. 

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan (Canadian). Published by Serpents Tail Ltd., HarperCollins Canada and Alfred A. Knopf.

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones (American). Published by Algonquin Books.

History of Violence by Édouard Louis (French). Translated from the French by Lorin Stein. Published by Harvill Secker.

The Friend by Sigrid Nunez (American). Published by Virago Press Ltd.

There There by Tommy Orange (Native American). Published by Harvill Secker, Alfred A. Knopf and McClelland & Stewart Inc.

All the Lives We Never Lived by Anuradha Roy (Indian). Published by MacLehose Press and Atria Books.

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk (Polish). Translated by from the Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones. Published by Fitzcarraldo Editions.

All the nominated novels are available for readers to borrow from public libraries. Most of the shortlisted titles are available for digital loan on BorrowBox.

Listen to each of the shortlisted authors and translators in conversation with Caelainn Hogan and Jessica Traynor on the 2020 International DUBLIN Literary Award Shortlist Podcast.

The Gutter Bookshop is sad they can’t be at the festival in person this year but you can browse (and purchase!) books by the featured authors at the special ILFDublin festival shop - CLICK HERE. And remember that there’s no postage to pay in Ireland if you spend over €30 or if you choose to collect your books from either of our bookshops. Just choose the ‘Free Shipping’ or ‘Click & Collect’ options at checkout!