Indian-American author Akhil Sharma has won the 2016 International DUBLIN Literary Award for his novel “Family Life.” The Award is organized and sponsored by Dublin City Council and at 100,000 euros, is the world’s largest prize for a single novel published in English.
Also, the award is different from others in that it receives nominations from public libraries in cities around the globe and recognizes both writers and translators. The winner was announced at a ceremony in Dublin’s Mansion House June 9.
Sharma was born in Delhi, and moved with his family to the United States when he was eight. He is also the author of “An Obedient Father,” winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award and a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. He lives in New York City and is an assistant professor of English at Rutgers University, Newark.
The winning novel was chosen from a total of 160 titles, nominated by libraries in 118 cities in 43 countries. The shortlist of ten novels, was chosen by an international panel of judges, included novels from five continents. Sharma is the third American author to win the prize in its 21 year history.
“To be acknowledged by people I respect is a strange thing. I can’t say I fooled them. I feel abashed by this honor,” Sharma is quoted saying in a press release. Hi book tells the story of eight-year-old Ajay, whose family move from Delhi to America in 1978, where life is extraordinary until tragedy strikes, leaving one brother severely brain-damaged and the other virtually orphaned.
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