Independent Foreign Fiction Prize to join forces with now annual Man Booker International Prize
Increased investment with the winning author and translator sharing £52,000 each year
The Booker Prize Foundation today (7 July 2015)
announces that the Man Booker International Prize is to evolve from 2016, to
encourage more publishing and reading of quality fiction in translation.
As from 2016, 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 quality 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 £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 £62,000
per year, compared to the previous £37,500 for the Man Booker International
Prize and £10,000 for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize.
The Man Booker International Prize will join forces
with the current Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, with its new terms
and conditions of eligibility grounded in those of the IFFP, bringing the best
of the IFFP to the new venture. 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 will also join the Booker Prize Foundation Advisory Committee after serving
his term as chair. A further four judges will be announced in due course.
Fiammetta Rocco will continue as Administrator of the Man Booker International
Prize.
The new Man Booker International Prize will complement
the Man Booker Prize in that the judges 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 2016.
The symmetrical relationship of the two prizes will
ensure that ‘the Man Booker’ can now honour fiction at its finest on a truly
international basis.
Jonathan Taylor, Chair of the Booker Prize Foundation,
comments:
‘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. The new Man Booker
International Prize will complement the Man Booker Prize for Fiction by
ensuring that all novels published in English in the UK are eligible for one or
other of the prizes. Thereby we will encourage the recognition, reward and readership
0f fiction of the highest quality from all over the world.’
Antonia Byatt, Director Literature and South East at
Arts Council England, which has supported the Independent Foreign
Fiction Prize said:
‘We are delighted to have been able to support the Independent
Foreign Fiction Prize over the last 15 years; the contributions made by Book
Trust, The Independent and Taittinger have been equally vital in its
success. Over that time the prize’s influence has grown hugely and joining
forces with the Man Booker International Prize will take the celebration of
translated fiction to the next level. We welcome the Booker Prize Foundation’s
commitment to writers, translators and readers alike, and we continue to
support literature in translation in a variety of other ways.'
Boyd Tonkin, Independent
Foreign Fiction Prize judge and now chair of the 2016 Man Booker International
Prize comments:
‘Since its revival, 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.’
Emmanuel Roman, CEO of Man Group, comments:
‘The new, annual Man Booker International Prize will continue to
recognise the hard work and creativity of the authors, while further
acknowledging the importance of translation and celebrating talent from all
over the world. For our business, this is also important as we have become
increasingly diverse and globalised. Furthermore the prize underscores Man
Group's charitable focus on literacy and education and our commitment to
excellence and entrepreneurship. Together with the wider charitable activities
of the Booker Prize Foundation, the prize plays a very important role in
promoting international literary excellence that we are honoured to support.’
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