EBRD Literature Prize Shortlist Reflects Diverse Voices from Across Regions

EBRD Literature Prize Shortlist Reflects Diverse Voices from Across Regions

(IN BRIEF) The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has revealed the shortlist for the prestigious EBRD Literature Prize, showcasing a diverse array of compelling works from writers across several countries and regions of the Bank’s operation. Selected by a panel of esteemed judges, including Maya Jaggi, Maureen Freely, and Philippe Sands, the shortlisted works span various themes and genres, offering insights into the complexities of societies and individuals in regions often marked by turmoil. Unveiled at the Oxford Literary Festival, the shortlist includes translated works from countries such as Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Lebanon, Morocco, Romania, Turkey, and Ukraine. This literary initiative, part of the EBRD’s Community Initiative, underscores the Bank’s commitment to promoting cultural exchange and mutual understanding in areas where it invests, with finalists set to be announced in late April and winners honored in June at an awards ceremony in London.

(PRESS RELEASE) LONDON, 20-Mar-2024 — /EuropaWire/ — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is delighted to announce the shortlist for this year’s EBRD Literature Prize.

The selected works in alphabetical order (by author) are:

The End by Attila Bartis, translated from the Hungarian by Judith Sollosy and published by Archipelago Books

Niki, A Novel by Christos Chomenidis, translated from the Greek by Patricia Felisa Barbeito and published by Other Press

The Wounded Age and Eastern Tales by Ferit Edgü, translated from the Turkish by Aron Aji and published by New York Review Books

Jimi Hendrix Live in Lviv by Andrey Kurkov, translated from the Russian by Reuben Woolley and published by MacLehose Press

Exiled Shadow by Norman Manea, translated from the Romanian by Carla Baricz and published by Yale University Press

History of Ash by Khadija Marouazi, translated from the Arabic by Alexander E. Elinson and published by Hoopoe, an imprint of the American University in Cairo Press

Let’s Go Home, Son by Ivica Prtenjača, translated from the Croatian by David Williams and published by Istros Books

This Thing Called Love by Alawiya Sobh, translated from the Arabic by Max Weiss and published by Seagull Books

A Sensitive Person by Jáchym Topol, translated from the Czech by Alex Zucker and published by Yale University Press

Barcode by Krisztina Tóth, translated from the Hungarian by Peter Sherwood and published by Jantar Publishing

The compelling novels and short stories are by writers from Croatia, the Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Lebanon, Morocco, Romania, Türkiye and Ukraine, representing several of the Bank’s countries and regions of operation. The works were chosen by three independent judges: award-winning writer and critic, Maya Jaggi (chair); novelist and translator, Maureen Freely; and author and professor of international law, Philippe Sands.

Unveiling the shortlist at a special event at the Oxford Literary Festival in the United Kingdom with last year’s winners, Dr Jaggi said: “Our shortlist is testimony to the vigour, inventiveness and imaginative breadth of fiction emerging from often troubled regions of the world. From the lyric to the epic, the picaresque to the carnivalesque, these books swept us from Moroccan dungeons and the snowy Turkish mountains to encounters with a Czech theatre troupe on the run and ageing Ukrainian rockers innocently unaware of the cataclysm to come. We found humour in abundance, tenderness and always a stubborn insistence on memory. Among the persistent themes were the psychological scars of authoritarianism, a Europe marred by erupting xenophobia, trepidation at Russian expansionism long before the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and the sullen resentments and quiet rapprochements between fathers and sons.”

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 areas where the Bank invests.

The Chair of the EBRD Community Initiative Steering Group, Edward Bannerman, said: “In 2024 it feels more important than ever to promote cultural exchange and mutual understanding. We’re very pleased to have opened up the Prize to North American publishers this year in addition to European ones and to broaden the opportunity for more great writing to reach a global, English-reading audience. We had a record number of submissions and we’re proud of the chance to champion authors from across our regions and their translators, in equal measure.”

Three finalists for the Prize will be announced in late April and the winning author and two runners-up, along with their translators, will be declared on 13 June at an awards ceremony and reception at the EBRD’s headquarters in London.

More information about the Prize can be found here: EBRD Literature Prize overview

Media Contact:

Tel: +44 207 338 7805
Email: Group-PressUnit@ebrd.com

SOURCE: EBRD