Mar 25, 2021
The DUBLIN Literary Award, established in 1994 and administered by Dublin City Libraries, invites over 400 library systems from 177 countries around the world to nominate the best titles of the year based on high literary merit. The longlist is made up of every nominated book, which you can find at the following link DUBLIN Literary Award Longlist
The 2021 shortlist, narrowed down to six titles, was announced today, and the winner will be announced on May 20th. You can find the shortlisted titles in various formats at OPL, on the list below.
In 2020 Ottawa Public Library’s small nominating committee, comprised of library staff and members of the community, nominated The Innocents by Michael Crummey. While we’re disappointed that our choice didn’t make it to the shortlist, we still love this special book. As we wrote in our nomination:
The Innocents tells the devastating, thrilling story of a pair of orphans left to fend for themselves in the wilderness in 19th century Newfoundland. The novel’s strengths lie both in the vividly rendered details of daily labour and changing landscape through the seasonal cycles that mark Ada and Evered’s lives, and in the sensitive depiction of their relationship.