Literature Prizes: Chinese Writers Make the List

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Date of this Version

11-5-2008

Document Type

Article

Citation

November 5, 2008 in The China Beat http://www.thechinabeat.org/

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Copyright November 5, 2008. Used by permission.

Abstract

The short list for the Man Asian Literary Prize was announced last week. The Man Prize is awarded to a work that isn’t available in English (the award partly covers translation of the work), but an excerpt translated into English is read by the judges. The award, which debuted last year when it was awarded to Wolf Totemby Jiang Rong, has named another Chinese writer to its short list this year: Yu Hua. For those interested in learning more about Yu Hua and his writing, an excerpt from his nominated work, Brothers, has been posted at the Man Prize website. The work was reviewed earlier this year by the New York Times.

FOB (friend of the blog) Pankaj Mishra is one of the judges for the prize, so we’ll be watching the results closely.

Yu’s place on the short list comes just after the announcement last month that Mo Yan (Red Sorghum, Big Breasts and Wide Hips, Life and Death are Wearing Me Out) won the inaugural Newman Prize for Chinese Literature. Regular China Beat contributor Haiyan Lee was one of the judges for that prize.

The rising profile of Chinese writers and Chinese literature is promising, particularly for readers who rely on English translations (or want to share their faves with friends, students, etc. who do).