The Dublin Literary Award

Christchurch City Libraries lists literary prize winners and links to catalogue searches, but we may not hold copies of all titles mentioned.

Every year we nominate a book for the Dublin Literary Award.

The Dublin Literary Award is the largest and most international prize of its kind. It is presented annually for a novel written in English or translated into English. The Award is sponsored by Dublin City Council, the municipal government of Dublin, and administered by Dublin City Public Libraries. The Award aims to promote excellence in world literature. Nominations are submitted by library systems in major cities throughout the world. The Dublin Literary Award is worth €100,000 to the winner. If the book has been translated the author receives €75,000 and the translator received €25,000. The award was launched on 7 April 1995.

See more literary prize winners.

2024 shortlist

The longlist was announced on 16 January 2024. The shortlist was announced on the 26 March 2024 and the winning ceremony will take place in Dublin on 23 May 2024.

• Old God’s Time Sebastian Barry
• Solenoid Mircea Cărtărescu, translated by Sean Cotter
• Haven Emma Donoghue
• If I Survive You Jonathan Escoffery
• The Sleeping Car Porter Suzette Mayr
• Praiseworthy Alexis Wright

2023

The shortlist was announced 28 March 2023. The winner was announced on 26 May 2023. 

• Marzahn, Mon Amour Katja Oskamp, translated by Jo Heinrich Winner
• Cloud Cuckoo Land Anthony Doerr
• The Trees Percival Everett
• Paradais Fernanda Melchor, translated by Sophie Hughes
• Love Novel Ivana Sajko, translated by Mima Simić
• Em Kim Thúy, translated by Sheila Fischman

Our nomination for 2023

Kurangaituku by Whiti Hereaka, published by Huia Publishers

 On the face of it, it is simply the retelling of the legend but it is so much more than this. It is about the power of our own voice to tell our story. It is about the importance of story to ourselves and our culture and the destructive nature of someone else telling or supplanting our story eg colonisation. An amazing, thought-provoking, beautifully lyrical work.
 'Do you see what their stories have done?...They have made monsters of us both'. 

Kurangaituku

2022

The winner was announced 23 May 2022.

The Art of Losing Alice Zeniter, Translated from the French by Frank Wynne Winner
Read more on the Dublin Literary Award website

The Death of Vivek Oji Akwaeke Emezi
Read more on the Dublin Literary Award website

Remote Sympathy Catherine Chidgey
Read more on the Dublin Literary Award website

At Night All Blood is Black David Diop, translated from the French by Anna Moschovakis
Read more on the Dublin Literary Award website

Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
Read more on the Dublin Literary Award website

The Art of Losing Alice Zeniter, Translated from the French by Frank Wynne
Read more on the Dublin Literary Award website

The Art of Falling Danielle McLaughlin
Read more on the Dublin Literary Award website

2021

• Lost Children Archive Valeria Luiselli Winner
• Apeirogon Colum McCann
• Girl, woman, other Bernardine Evaristo
• Hurricane Season Fernanda Melchor, translated from the Spanish by Sophie Hughes
• Lost Children Archive Valeria Luiselli
• On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous Ocean Vuong
• Nickel Boys Colson Whitehead

Kia ora from Tūranga, Christchurch City, New Zealand!

Many thanks to Mike from @ChristchurchLib who reviews their nomination for the 2021 #DubLitAward, Auē by Becky Manawatu.

🎉SHORTLIST ANNOUNCED @ 00:01am on Thurs, 25 March🎉@IrelandinNZ @MakaroPress @dubcilib @ILFDublin pic.twitter.com/Puz2IVEdzp

— Dublin Literary Award (@DublinLitAward) March 24, 2021

2020

• Milkman Anna Burns (Irish) Winner
• The Silence of the Girls Pat Barker (British)
• Disoriental Négar Djavadi (Iranian-French). Translated from the French by Tina Kover.
• Washington Black Esi Edugyan (Canadian).
• An American Marriage Tayari Jones (American).
• History of Violence Édouard Louis (French). Translated from the French by Lorin Stein.
• The Friend Sigrid Nunez (American).
• There There Tommy Orange (Native American).
• All the Lives We Never Lived by Anuradha Roy (Indian).
• Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk (Polish).

2019

• Idaho Emily Ruskovich Winner
• Home Fire Kamila Shamsie
• Conversations with Friends Sally Rooney
• Reservoir 13 Jon McGregor
• A Boy in Winter Rachel Seiffert
• Lincoln in the Bardo George Saunders
• Compass Mathias Énard (Translated from the French by Charlotte Mandell)
• Exit West Mohsin Hamid
• Midwinter Break Bernard MacLaverty
• History of Wolves Emily Fridlund

2018

• Solar Bones Mike McCormack (Irish) Published by Tramp Press. Winner
• Baba Dunja’s Last Love Alina Bronsky (Ukrainian/German) Translated from the German by Tim Mohr. Published by Europa Editions.
• The Transmigration of Bodies Yuri Herrera (Mexican) Translated from the Spanish by Lisa Dillman. Published by And Other Stories.
• The Unseen Roy Jacobsen (Norwegian) Translated from Norwegian by Don Bartlett & Don Shaw. Published by MacLehose Press.
• Human Acts Han Kang (South Korean) Translated from Korean by Deborah Smith. Published by Portobello Books and Random House, USA.
• The Lesser Bohemians Eimear McBride (Irish) Published by Faber & Faber.
• Distant Light Antonio Moresco (Italian) Translated from Italian by Richard Dixon. Published by Archipelago Books.
• Ladivine Marie Ndiaye (French) Translated from French by Jordan Stump. Published by MacLehose Press.
• The Woman Next Door Yewande Omotoso (South African/Nigerian/Barbadian) Published by Chatto & Windus.
• My Name is Lucy Barton Elizabeth Strout (American) Published by Penguin, UK

2017

• A General Theory of Oblivion by José Eduardo Agualusa (Translated from the Portuguese by Daniel Hahn) Winner
• Confession of the Lioness by Mia Couto (Translated from the Portuguese by David Brookshaw)
• The Green Road by Anne Enright
• The Prophets of Eternal Fjord by Kim Leine (Translated from the Danish by Martin Aitken)
• The Story of My Teeth by Valeria Luiselli (Translated from the Spanish by Christina MacSweeney)
• The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
• Under the Udala Trees by Chinelo Okparanta
• A Strangeness in My Mind by Orhan Pamuk (Translated from the Turkish by Ekin Oklap)
• A Whole Life by Robert Seethaler (Translated from the German by Charlotte Collins)
• A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

2016

• Family Life Akhil Sharma Winner
• A Brief History of Seven Killings Marlon James
• Outlaws Javier Cercas (Translated from the Spanish by Anne McLean)
• Diary of the Fall Michel Laub (Translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa)
• Dept. of Speculation Jenny Offill
• Lila Marilynne Robinson
• The End of Days Jenny Erpenbeck (Translated from the German by Susan Bernofsky)
• Academy Street Mary Costello
• Our Lady of the Nile Scholastique Mukasonga (Translated from the French by Melanie Mauthner)
• Your Fathers, Where Are They? And the Prophets, Do They Live Forever? Dave Eggers

2015

• Harvest Jim Crace Winner
• Americanah Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• Horses of God Mahi Binebine
• The narrow road to the deep north Richard Flanagan
• Burial rites Hannah Kent
• K Bernardo Kucinski
• Brief loves that live forever Andreï Makine
• TransAtlantic Colum McCann
• Someone Alice McDermott
• Sparta Roxana Robinson

2014

• The sound of things falling Juan Gabriel Vásquez (translated from the Spanish by Anne McLean) Winner
• The detour Gerbrand Bakker (translated from the Dutch by David Colmer)
• Questions of travel Michelle de Kretser
• Absolution Patrick Flanery
• A death in the family Karl Ove Knausgård (translated from the Norwegian by Don Bartlett)
• Three strong women Marie NDiaye (translated from the French by John Fletcher)
• Traveller of the century Andrés Neuman (translated from the Spanish by Nick Caistor and Lorenza Garcia)
• The light of Amsterdam David Park
• The spinning heart Donal Ryan
• The garden of evening mists Twan Eng Tan

2013

• City of Bohane Kevin Barry Winner
• The map and the territory Michel Houellebecq (translated from the French by Gavin Bowd)
• 1Q84 Haruki Murakami (translated from the Japanese by Jay Rubin and Philip Gabriel)
• Pure Andrew Miller
• The Buddha in the attic Julie Otsuka
• The tragedy of Arthur Arthur Phillips
• Swamplandia! Karen Russell
• From the mouth of the whale Sjón (translated from the Icelandic by Victoria Cribb)
• The faster I walk, the smaller I am Kjersti A. Skomsvold (translated from the Norwegian by Kerri A. Pierce)
• Caesarion Tommy Wieringa (translated from the Dutch by Sam Garrett)

2012

• Even the dogs Jon McGregor Winner
• Rocks in the belly Jon Bauer
• The matter with Morris David Bergen
• A visit from the Goon Squad Jennifer Egan
• The memory of love Aminatta Forna
• Matterhorn Karl Marlantes
• Landed Tim Pears
• Limassol Yishai Sarid
• The eternal son Cristovão Tezza
• Lean on Pete Willy Vlautin

2011

• Let the great world spin Colum McCann Winner
• Galore Michael Crummey
• The lacuna Barbara Kingsolver
• The vagrants Yiyun Li
• Ransom David Malouf
• Little bird of heaven Joyce Carol Oates
• Jasper Jones Craig Silvey
• Brooklyn Colm Tóibín
• Love and summer William Trevor
• After the fire, a still, small voice Evie Wyld

2010

• The twin Gerbrand Bakker Winner
• The elegance of the hedgehog Muriel Barbery
• In zodiac light Robert Edric
• Settlement Christoph Hein
• The believers Zoe Heller
• Netherland Joseph O'Neill
• God's own country Ross Raisin
• Home Marilynne Robinson

2009

• Man gone down Michael Thomas Winner
• The brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao Junot Díaz
• Ravel Jean Echenoz
• The reluctant fundamentalist Mohsin Hamid
• The archivist's story Travis Holland
• The burnt-out town of Miracle Roy Jacobsen
• The Indian clerk David Leavitt
• Animal's people Indra Sinha

2008

• De Niro's game Rawi Hage Winner
• The speed of light Javier Cercas (translated from the Spanish by Anne McLean)
• The sweet & simple kind Yasmine Gooneratne
• Dreams of speaking Gail Jones
• Let it be morning Sayed Kashua (translated from the Hebrew by Miriam Shlesinger)
• The attack Yasmina Khadra (translated from the French by John Cullen)
• Winterwood Patrick McCabe
• The woman who waited Andreï Makine (translated from the French by Geoffrey Strachan)

2007

• Out stealing horses Per Petterson (translated from Norwegian by Anne Born) Winner
• Arthur and George Julian Barnes
• A long long way Sebastian Barry
• Slow man J. M. Coetzee
• Extremely loud & incredibly close Jonathan Safran Foer
• The short day dying Peter Hobbs
• No country for old men Cormac McCarthy
• Shalimar the clown Salman Rushdie

2006

• The Master Colm Tóibín Winner
• GraceLand Chris Abani
• Maps for lost lovers Nadeem Aslam
• Havoc in its third year Ronan Bennett
• The closed circle Jonathan Coe
• An altered light Jens Christian Grøndahl (translated from the Danish by Anne Born)
• The swallows of Kabul Yasmina Khadra (translated from the French by John Cullen)
• Don't move Margaret Mazzantini (translated from the Italian by John Cullen)
• The logogryph Thomas Wharton

2005

• The known world Edward P. Jones Winner
• Gardening at night Diane Awerbuck
• The half brother Lars Saabye Christensen (translated from the Norwegian by Kenneth Steven)
• The good doctor Damon Galgut
• Elle Douglas Glover
• Phantom pain Arnon Grunberg (translated from the Dutch by Sam Garrett)
• The reat Fire Shirley Hazzard
• Willenbrock Christoph Hein (translated from the German by Philip Boehm)
• Deafening Frances Itani
• The fortress of solitude Jonathan Lethem

2004

• This blinding absence of light Tahar Ben Jelloun (translated from the French by Linda Coverdale) Winner
• The book of illusions Paul Auster
• Any human heart William Boyd
• Caramelo Sandra Cisneros
• Middlesex Jeffrey Eugenides
• The White family Maggie Gee
• Balthasar's odyssey Amin Maalouf (translated from the French by Barbara Bray)
• Family matters Rohinton Mistry
• Earth and ashes Atiq Rahimi (translated from the Dari by Erdag M. Göknar)
• House of day, house of night Olga Tokarczuk (translated from the Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones)

2003

• My name is Red Orhan Pamuk (translated from the Turkish by Erdag Göknar) Winner
• The ash garden Dennis Bock
• Bitter fruit Achmat Dangor
• The visit of the Royal Physician (also published as The Royal Physician's visit) Per Olov Enquist (translated from the Swedish by Tiina Nunnelly)
• The corrections Jonathan Franzen
• The migrant painter of birds Lidia Jorge (translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa)
• That they may face the rising sun (also published as By the lake) John McGahern -
• Bel canto Ann Patchett

2002

• Atomised (also published as The elementary particles ) Michel Houellebecq Winner
• The blind assassin Margaret Atwood
• True history of the Kelly Gang Peter Carey
• The keepers of truth Michael Collins
• The last samurai Helen DeWitt
• The years with Laura Diaz Carlos Fuentes
• Madame Antoni Libera

2001

• No great mischief Alastair McLeod Winner
• The love you promised me Silvia Molina
• The true history of Paradise Margaret Cezair-Thompson
• The Blackwater lightship Colm Tóibín
• Our fathers Andrew O'Hagan
• The clay machine-gun Victor Pelevin

2000

• Wide open Nicola Barker Winner
• The hours Michael Cunningham
• Trumpet Jackie Kay
• This side of brightness Colum McCann
• Charming Billy Alice McDermott
• Paradise Toni Morrison
• I married a communist Philip Roth

1999

• Ingenious pain Andrew Miller Winner
• Quarantine Jim Crace
• Underworld Don DeLillo
• The ordinary seaman Francisco Goldman
• Enduring love Ian McEwan
• The wind-up bird chronicle Haruki Murakami (translated by Jay Rubin)
• The reader Bernard Schlink (translated by Carol Brown Janeway)
• The Puttermesser papers Cynthia Ozick

1998

• The land of green plums Herta Müller (translated by Michael Hofmann) Winner
• Alias Grace Margaret Atwood
• Imaginings of sand Andre Brink
• The counting house David Dabydeen
• The glade within the grove David Foster
• Autobiography of my mother Jamaica Kincaid
• The Pope's rhinoceros Lawrence Norfolk
• Last orders Graham Swift
• The Englishman's boy Guy Vanderhaeghe

1997

• A heart so white Javier Marias (translated by Margaret Jull Costa) Winner
• Reservation blues Sherman Alexie
• A fine balance Rohinton Mistry
• Novel without a name Duong Thu Huong
• Declares Pereira Antonio Tabucchi
• A tiler's afternoon Lars Gustaffson
• The good Negress (also published as The rain coming) A. J. Verdelle
• Morvern Callar Alan Warner

1996

• Remembering Babylon David Malouf Winner
• Ghosts John Banville
• A way in the world V. S. Naipaul
• The following story Cees Noteboom (translated by Ina Rilke)
• The laws Connie Palmen (translated by Richard Huijing)
• The Gospel according to Jesus Christ José Saramago (translated by Giovanni Pontiero)
• Away Jane Urquhart