A rojak* of items that caught my
eye this week…
Evolution of the Man Booker International Prize
The Booker Prize Foundation
announced this week that the Man Booker International Prize is to evolve from
2016, to encourage more publishing and reading of fiction in translation. From
next year, the prize will be awarded annually on the basis of a single book,
translated into English and published in the UK, rather than every two years
for a body of work. The 2015 Man Booker International Prize highlighted the
growing importance of fiction in translation, with eight out of ten of the
finalists having been originally published in a language other than
English. For the 2016 prize, both novels
and collections of short stories will be eligible. As a further acknowledgement
of the importance of translation, the GBP 50,000 prize will be divided equally
between the author and the translator. Each shortlisted author and translator
will receive £1,000. This brings the total prize fund to GBP 62,000 per year.
Furthermore, the Man Booker
International Prize will in future join forces with the current Independent
Foreign Fiction Prize administered by the UK newspaper, The Independent. Boyd Tonkin, senior writer on The Independent, who has been on the judging panel for, and a
champion of, the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize since 2000, will chair the
judges of the 2016 Man Booker International Prize. He said: “The Independent
Foreign Fiction Prize has through its record of success built a unique
reputation as an annual showcase for the very best in global fiction, and for
the precious art of the translator. I am delighted that, through the newly
configured Man Booker International Prize, even more readers will have the
chance to encounter the finest fiction from around the world. It is
particularly thrilling to see the translator’s role acknowledged by the equal
division of the prize between writer and translator.” Tonkin’s fellow judges will be announced in
due course. They will select a longlist of 12 or 13 books next March, followed
by a shortlist of six in April, with the winner announced in May.
Commenting on the new structure
of Man Booker International Prize, and the tie-up with the Independent Foreign
Fiction Prize, Jonathan Taylor, Chair of the Booker Prize Foundation, said:
“One of the persistent observations of Man Booker International Prize judges
has been that a substantial body of important literary fiction has not been
translated into English. We very much hope that this reconfiguration of the
prize will encourage a greater interest and investment in translation.”
Quick Notice: Where Worlds Collide, Pakistani Fiction in the New Millennium by David Waterman
About the book: Where Worlds
Collide is a survey of contemporary Pakistani writers. Pakistan's current
generation of English-language novelists, born after the 1971 war and writing
in the twenty-first century, must navigate between the ancient cultural history
they have inherited and the relative youth of their country as a political
construct. Where Worlds Collide
explores the works of seven writers of this generation, including both residents
of Pakistan, and also authors from the diaspora, in order to examine the manner
in which questions of history, culture, and identity arise from this
process. The fictional portrayals of
lives represented in the works of these authors take into account everyday
issues, stories of individuals and their families, their joys and sorrows and
fears, and place them in the context of the greater story of Pakistan.
Together, these writers explore in practical terms: What does it mean to be a
Pakistani now and what might it mean in the near future? How does one speak of
past trauma without disrupting the present? What is the role for Islam to play
in the governance of such a diverse country? How can Pakistan ensure the future
equality of its boys and girls?
About the author: David Waterman teaches at the University of La
Rochelle, France.
Details: Published by Oxford University Press, Pakistan, in harback. Priced in local currencies.
Blog Spot: Super Cool Books
Each week I invite administrators
of relevant and interesting-sounding blogs to write a paragraph about their
blog.
Hello! This is Don Bosco from Super Cool Books in Singapore. Super Cool
Books is trying to be a few things at once: a publishing studio, an Asian young
adult (YA) imprint, an iPad eBook store, and, of course, a blog - it's mostly about DIY
publishing. I started Super Cool Books four years ago, to develop stories for
children and teens, mostly inspired by Asian myths and pop culture. Eventually
the aim is to put out Asian YA stories by other writers, but right now,
published titles are mostly my own writing. As suggested by the blog, Super Cool Books is also known for
promoting a DIY publishing approach, and experimenting with transmedia
projects. I've spoken about all this at the Singapore Writers Festival, Asian
Festival of Children's Content, and Broadcast Asia. I've also been using our
blog to feature like-minded people, mostly in Singapore and Malaysia, who are
creating Asian stories for young readers, or doing cool indie publishing stuff.
Please get in touch if you think we can collaborate in any way. Click here.
Do you run a blog you think may
be of interest to readers of Asian Books Blog, and which you'd like to see featured in the blog spot?
If so, get in touch, preferably via e-mail - asianbooksblog@gmail.com.
Twitter Spot: @chinarhyming
Each week I make a suggestion of
an interesting Twitter account you may like to follow. This week, China Rhyming, from Paul French,
author of books about modern Chinese history and contemporary Chinese society. He describes @chinarhyming as a gallimaufry -
a jumble, or, indeed, a rojak - of random China history and research interests.
Paul French’s latest book is Midnight in
Peking.
Book Club Spot
Are you a member of a book club
you think may be of interest to readers of Asian Books Blog? If so, get in touch, preferably via e-mail -
asianbooksblog@gmail.com - because I want to include a weekly book club spot on
Sundays, to complement the blog spot and the twitter spot.
*A rojak is a Singaporean salad.
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