For Bangladeshi English language authors and translators
One of the world's richest and most innovative literary awards is to be launched later this year. It is the AALA (Western Australian Premier's Australia-Asia Literary Award), and winners will receive a cash payment of A$110,000 (US$103,000). It makes the AALA far larger than the American Pulitzer for fiction ($10,000) and in roughly the same league as UK's Man Booker (US$100,000). The chair of the judging panel is Nury Vittachi, the Hong Kong-based Sri Lankese writer whose column is currently being syndicated in The Daily Star. The other judge is Kamila Shamsie, the Pakistani writer, while a third judge has yet to be named.
This ground-breaking award is for a book-length work of literary fiction written by an author resident in Australia or Asia, or a work primarily set in Australia or an Asian country. Works must have been either written in, or translated into, English and published in the preceding year. Recognizing the increasing predominance of electronic media and to emphasize the Award's focus on literary merit, no matter what the format, the Award is open to any book-length work of literary fiction published either electronically or in print. All works submitted must be nominated by publishers and written in the English language. If the winning entry is a work translated into English, the author will receive AUD $88,000 and the translator AUD $22,000.
Entries for the award are now open and will close 31 May, 2008. The winner of the inaugural prize is to be announced in the fall of this year. Entry forms are available at www.dca.wa.gov.au.
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