Ali Smith is 100.000 euro rijker, want dat is het prijzengeld van de Dublin Literay Award. Gisteren werd bekend dat Gliff door de jury was uitverkozen tot beste boek van het afgelopen jaar. Bibliotheken kunnen (in het Engels vertaalde) boeken nomineren voor de prijs. De jury kiest daaruit een shortlist en de uiteindelijke winnaar. De burgemeester van Dublin benadrukte in zijn speech de democratische waarden:

Gliff is a remarkable and deeply powerful work from author Ali Smith. Through the eyes of two young protagonists navigating an increasingly authoritarian society, we are reminded that courage is not always loud, but it is always consequential. Their resilience, their humanity, and their refusal to surrender hope speak to something timeless within us all. At a moment when democracy across the world can too often feel fragile, this novel is a powerful reminder that freedom, dignity and democratic values should never be taken for granted.

In haar dankwoord zei Smith:

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.

In Nederland worden de romans van Ali Smith uitgegeven door Prometheus. De enige Nederlandse winnaar van de Dublin Literay Award is Gerbrand Bakker.

De jury bestond uit: Xiaolu Guo, Daniel Mulhall, Clara Ministral, Dike Chukwumerije, Disha Bose en de niet meestemmende voorzitter professor Chris Morash.