Two Quebec authors managed to be among the 70 works included in the first selection of the International Dublin Literary Award, one of the most prestigious literary awards in the world.
After the Médicis and Décembre prizes, obtained this fall, Kevin Lambert once again sees his work recognized with the English translation, by Donald Winkler, of his novel Roberval Quarrel. Originally published by Héliotrope in 2018, this “union fiction” inspired by Brest Quarrel by Jean Genet takes place in the context of a strike that goes off the rails in a sawmill in Lac-Saint-Jean.
For her part, Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay is noted for the book Dandelion DaughterEnglish translation of the acclaimed The daughter of herself (Leaf Merchant, 2021), by Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch, in which she tells the journey of a girl who everyone mistakes for a boy. “When I found out about Dandelion Daughter, I thought about all the people in the world right now who are trying to make us feel ashamed of who we are, the people who question our existence, the people who want us to disappear. Here is this nomination for you,” reacted the author on her Facebook page.
In all, eight Canadian writers find themselves on the coveted long list of the 29e edition of this award sponsored by Dublin City Council, Ireland.
With a grant of 100,000 euros, the equivalent of 147,000 Canadian dollars, the Dublin Literary Award is awarded through a unique nomination process. Rather than being chosen by a jury or submitted by publishers, the competing works of fiction are selected by public libraries in the 35 largest cities in the world. A jury will then be responsible for determining the finalists, as well as the big winner.
The authors selected for the second round will be revealed on March 26, while the winner will be crowned on May 23.