'What a homecoming for my book' - Scottish author Ali Smith announced as Dublin Literary Award winner

Ali Smith, a Scottish author, won the Dublin Literary Award for her novel Gliff. The prize was presented at a ceremony during the International Literature Festival Dublin in Merrion Square Park. Gliff is a dystopian story about two young homeless children who befriend a horse. The novel was selected from a shortlist of six works by writers from Canada, France, the UK, and the US. Smith said she was amazed and delighted that the novel won, and she praised the award’s international reach and its emphasis on translation. She also highlighted that nominations come from public libraries worldwide and their readers. The award, now in its 31st year, promotes excellence in world literature and recognizes writers and translators.

"I couldn't be more amazed and delighted that my novel has come to the surface and won the Dublin Literary Award. This is an award prized among writers, who know that the Dublin Literary Award's formation, its ear and eye for what matters most, and its profoundly literary legacy, all make it the best - an award that dares always to be international and that knows the importance of translation - the beating heart of all writing."

"It's an award whose nominations all always come from worldwide public libraries and their readers - in other words from the open heart of communal thought and imagination. It's also an award that's built, over its years, its own astonishing library of nominated works by a roster of writers I'm grateful now to find myself among. What a thrill. What a homecoming for my book, a book very much about who and what makes a home for those who find themselves out in the world looking for exactly that."

"I still can't quite believe her luck. The dystopian novel, which tells a story of two young homeless children who befriend a horse, was chosen from a shortlist of six novels by writers from Canada, France, the UK and the US. Now in its 31st year, the Dublin Literary Award is presented annually to promote excellence in world literature."

Read at Irish Independent