HONG KONG – The Man Asian Literary Prize, Asia’s most prestigious fiction award, has begun talks with potential title partners regarding sponsorship of the Prize in 2013.
Man
Group plc, which also sponsors the Man Booker Prizes, has decided to relinquish
title sponsorship following the award of this year’s prize in March 2013. Man
is meanwhile working with the organizers to support their efforts to find a new
title sponsor.
Professor
David Parker, Executive Director of the Asian Literary Prize, said: “When the
Prize began in 2007 with the aim of bringing the best of Asian new writing to
the world, Man stood beside us as our founding partner. Their belief in the
project has been unwavering. On behalf of everyone involved in the Asian
Literary Prize, I would like to thank Man Group for the steady support that has
enabled the Prize, in five short years, to achieve more than any of us would
have dreamed possible.
We
look forward to the future with a new partner, confident that Asian fiction is
now beginning to win the global readership and recognition it deserves. Our
most recent winner, Please
Look After Mom by South Korean writer Kyung-sook Shin, has recently
sold its two millionth copy worldwide – an amazing achievement. One third of
the shortlisted writers for this year’s Man Booker Prize are from Asia, and
international publishing houses such as Pan Macmillan and Hachette have
recently opened offices here in Hong Kong.
The
Asian Literary Prize is a unique arts project, bringing together the most
exciting new books produced by the diverse literary cultures from Iran to
Japan. With the rise of e-readers and tablet computing, the rapid growth of a
new class of highly educated and culturally engaged Asian readers, as well as a
growing global thirst for Asian fiction in English and English translation, the
Prize is well positioned for the next five years and beyond.
We
are looking forward to announcing the longlist for the final Man Asian Literary
Prize on December 4th 2012. Looking at the record submissions for
2012, we can tell it is going to be another brilliant year for fiction from our
part of the world.”
Peter
Clarke, Chief Executive of Man Group, said: “Man is proud to have been involved
in raising the profile of both Asian fiction and the prize itself over the past
five years as the founding sponsor. We are committed to supporting the prize
organisers in finding a new sponsor to ensure the continued development of this
leading literary prize.”
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