Jhumpa Lahiri's Unaccustomed Earth so impressed the judges of the Frank O'Connor International Short Story award that they decided not to even bother with a shortlist and simply announce her the winner of the €35,000 (£27,000) prize. Congratulations to her and to all those longlisted May this get more people reading short story collections!
For more on the prize, see the articles in the Guardian and the Irish Times.
1 comment:
I think the judges were wrong to do away with a shortlist. Whether or not Jhumpa Lahiri's book was by far superior to the others, being on a shortlist is akin to being nominated in a proper sense, a kind of silver and bronze medals and runner-up position. If the award was set up to promote the short story, then why do away with this? It's not exactly a great marketing tool to say that all the other books were (in effect) no good. Plus I think the judges underestimate that people like to feel in the running in some way, even if they're not. They don't like to be told they never had a chance!
All in all, I think the award's shot itself in the foot with this...
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