Cultural diversity celebrated as EBRD announces Literature Prize 2023 finalists

Cultural diversity celebrated as EBRD announces Literature Prize 2023 finalists

(IN BRIEF) The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has announced the finalists for the EBRD Literature Prize 2023, which celebrates literary expression and cultural diversity in countries where the Bank operates. The three shortlisted works are Mister N by Najwa Barakat, The Lake by Bianca Bellová, and The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk, along with their English-language translators. The €20,000 prize will be awarded to the best work of literary fiction originally written in a language of one of the countries where the Bank operates and published by a UK or Europe-based publisher in the previous year. The winner and two runners-up will be announced during an award ceremony at the EBRD’s London headquarters on June 15, 2023. The EBRD Literature Prize is part of the Bank’s Community Initiative, which supports philanthropic, social, and cultural activities in the regions where the EBRD operates.

(PRESS RELEASE) LONDON, 27-Apr-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), a multilateral developmental investment bank, is pleased to announce the finalists for the EBRD Literature Prize 2023, selected by an independent panel of judges consisting of Toby Lichtig (Chair), Maya Jaggi, Arkady Ostrovsky, and Natasha Randall.

Since 2017, the EBRD has recognized and promoted cultural diversity and literary expression in countries where the Bank operates by awarding the international EBRD Literature Prize to authors and their English-language translators. The Prize also celebrates the crucial role that translators play in bridging different cultures.

This year’s shortlist of translated literary works, in alphabetical order by author, includes:

• Mister N by Najwa Barakat, translated from Arabic by Luke Leafgren (And Other Stories), from Lebanon
• The Lake by Bianca Bellová, translated from Czech by Alex Zucker (Parthian Books), from the Czech Republic
• The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk, translated from Polish by Jennifer Croft (Fitzcarraldo Editions), from Poland

The €20,000 prize is awarded to the best work of literary fiction originally written in a language from one of the countries where the Bank operates, which has been translated into English and published by a UK or Europe-based publisher in the previous year. The two runners-up will receive a prize of €4,000 each.

Toby Lichtig said: “My fellow judges and I would like to congratulate the finalists for their magnificent contributions to contemporary literature. We’d also like to offer thanks for such extraordinary, powerful and memorable reading experiences. Whittling our shortlist down was tough, as it always is, but these are three truly outstanding novels, with overlapping themes – devotion and rebellion, timelessness and historical contingency, free will and political power – and utterly distinct identities. Each would be a worthy winner in its own right. Choosing that winner is an even bigger challenge.”

The EBRD Literature Prize is part of the Bank’s Community Initiative, which engages the institution and its staff in philanthropic, social, and cultural activities in the regions where the EBRD operates. The winner and two runners-up, along with their translators, will be announced on June 15, 2023, during an award ceremony held at the EBRD’s Headquarters in London.

For more information on the EBRD Literature Prize, visit the Bank’s website.

Media contact:

Tel: +44 207 338 7805
Email: press@ebrd.com

SOURCE: EBRD