The Armies has won the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2009.
Colombian writer Evelio Rosero and his translator Anne McLean were announced as the winners of the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2009 at a ceremony at Tate Britain on 14 May.
The Armies is a short, brutal portrait of the effect of civil war on one rural Colombian village.
Rosero was unable to attend the ceremony, but a translated statement of thanks was read out by Jonathan Heawood of English PEN. Anne McLean, who was praised as an 'unsurpassable translator of Spanish-speaking writers' – she was also shortlisted this year for her translation of Juan Gabriel Vásquez's The Informers – was there to collect her prize (£5,000 and a limited edition magnum of Champagne Taittinger) in person.
Read our interview with Evelio Rosero
The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize celebrates an exceptional work of fiction by a living author which has been translated into English from any other language and published in the United Kingdom in the last year.
Uniquely, the prize acknowledges both the novelist and the translator equally, recognising the importance of the translator in their ability to bridge the gap between languages and cultures.
2009 shortlist
This year’s shortlist reflects the international scope of the prize and includes writers working in Hebrew, Chinese, Albanian, French and Spanish.
Six contenders were shortlisted for the prize, worth £10,000.
Voice Over by Celine Curiol, translated from French by Sam Richard (Faber)
Beijing Coma by Ma Jian, translated from Chinese by Flora Drew (Chatto & Windus)
Read our report of Ma Jian talking to Boyd Tonkin
The Siege by Ismail Kadare, translated from Albanian by David Bellos (Canongate)
The Armies by Evelio Rosero, translated from Spanish by Anne McLean (Maclehose Press)
The Informers by Juan Gabriel Vásquez, translated from Spanish by Anne McLean (Bloomsbury)
Read our review of The Informers
Friendly Fire by AB Yehoshua, translated from Hebrew by Stuart Schoffman (Halban)
Read more about the shortlisted titles, authors and translators
Boyd Tonkin, Literary Editor of the Independent and Chair of the judging panel commented, 'With 126 books submitted, translated from 25 different languages, the record field for this year’s Independent Foreign Fiction Prize shows that the art of translation flourishes in Britain in spite of challenging times.
'From a broader selection of fiction than ever, the judges have a chosen a shortlist that reflects all the diversity and depth of the global fiction that reader’s in this country can enjoy, and celebrates the artistry of the translators who deliver it to our doorstep. Taken together, the shortlisted novels offer a first-class world tour of experience and emotion that no other art form could equal.'
Antonia Byatt, Director, Literature Strategy, Arts Council England said: 'This year's shortlist is a fantastic demonstration of the rich range and quality of fiction in translation being published in Britain today. It’s wonderful to see so many languages represented on the shortlist – these books provide a unique window on the world and a real feast for all lovers of fiction.'
The winning author and translator will be awarded £5,000 each and a limited edition magnum of Champagne Taittinger.
The 2009 judging panel comprises Linda Grant, novelist; Kate Griffin, ACE literature officer; Fiona Sampson, editor of Poetry Review; Mark Thwaite, blogger, readysteadybook.com; and Boyd Tonkin, literary editor, the Independent.
The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize 2008 was awarded to the Belgian author Paul Verhaeghen for his novel Omega Minor. Verhaeghen was the first author to have both written and translated the winning title and so picked up the full £10,000 prize for his work translated from Dutch into English.
