Bibliofemme News
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28/09/2005
Debut author wins inaugural Frank O'Connor award
The first ever Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award was presented to Chinese author Yiyun Li for her debut collection, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers.
Speaking at the award ceremony in Cork City on Sunday, the chair of the judging panel, Val McDermid, praised Li's collection.
"After vigorous discussion, we were all agreed that A Thousand Years of Good Prayers was the winner," she said.
"It demonstrates an admirable command of the short story form, revealing moments of extraordinary brilliance along the way. It is a collection with a sense of history as well as humanity."
With a prize fund of €50,000, the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Prize is the single biggest award in the world for a collection of short stories.
It was organised by the Munster Literature Centre as part of Cork's literary programme for its current tenure as European Capital of Culture
The award honours playwright, theatre director and literary critic Frank O'Connor, one of Ireland's most renowned short story writers.
The five other shortlisted books were Natasha and Other Stories by David Bezmozgis, Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman, Corpus Christi by Bret Anthony Johnston, The Secret Goldfish by David Means and The Turning by Tim Winton.
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