News 2025 Dublin Literary Award Shortlist Revealed
Dublin City Council announces the 2025 Dublin Literary Award Shortlist
6 books on the shortlist of the 2025 Dublin Literary Award, the world’s most valuable annual prize for a single work of fiction celebrating 30 years.
Shortlisted titles:
Not a River by Selva Almada, translated by Annie McDermott
We Are Light by Gerda Blees, translated by Michele Hutchison
The Adversary by Michael Crummey
James by Percival Everett
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch
North Woods by Daniel Mason
Meet the 2025 Shortlist
Six novels have been shortlisted for the 2025 Dublin Literary Award, sponsored by Dublin City Council, which celebrates 30 years of excellence in world literature. This award is the world’s most valuable annual prize for a single work of fiction published in English, worth €100,000 to the winner. If the book has been translated the author receives €75,000 and the translator receives €25,000. Unique among literary prizes, nominations are submitted by librarians and readers from a network of libraries around the world.
The 2025 Award winner will be chosen from a diverse and international shortlist which includes two novels in translation from Spanish and Dutch. The shortlist features authors who are American, Argentinian, Canadian, Dutch and Irish.
The 30th winner of the Dublin Literary Award will be announced by its Patron, Lord Mayor of Dublin, Emma Blain on Thursday 22nd May, as part of International Literature Festival Dublin (ILFD), which is also funded by Dublin City Council.
The shortlisted titles are:
Not a River by Selva Almada (Argentinian), translated from Spanish by Annie McDermott. Published by Charco Press. Nominated by Biblioteca Daniel Cosío Villegas, El Colegio de México, Mexico
We Are Light by Gerda Blees (Dutch) translated from Dutch by Michele Hutchinson. Published by World Editions NY LLC. Nominated by Bibliotheek Utrecht, The Netherlands
The Adversary by Michael Crummey (Canadian). Published by Alfred A. Knopf Canada. Nominated by Newfoundland & Labrador Public Libraries, Canada.
James by Percival Everett (American). Published by Doubleday (Penguin Random House US); Mantle (an imprint of Pan Macmillan UK). Nominated by Miami-Dade Public Library and The Seattle Public Library, United States.
Prophet Song by Paul Lynch (Irish). Published by Oneworld Publications (UK); Atlantic Monthly Press (US), Nominated by Jamaica Library Service, Jamaica.
North Woods by Daniel Mason (American). Published by John Murray Press (UK; Random House (US). Nominated by Iowa City Public Library, United States; Municipal Library of Prague, Czechia
Download a collage image of the shortlisted books HERE
Download a collage image of the shortlisted books and authors HERE
Download the 2025 Dublin Literary Award Shortlist Brochure HERE
The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Emma Blain said
“As we celebrate 30 years of the Dublin Literary Award, it is heartening to see that the broad scope of the Award still persists with a shortlist that includes nominations from public libraries in Canada, Jamaica, Mexico, The Netherlands, and the United States. The 2025 winner will be chosen from an inspiring shortlist that includes two novels in translation and explores themes of power, corruption, manipulation, bravery, ghosts from the past, and a re-imagining of a literary classic.”
Dublin City Librarian, Mairead Owens, thanked the nominating libraries from around the world for their considered choices illustrating the range of novels and innovative story-telling.
“I always look forward to viewing the Dublin Literary Award shortlist, and in our 30th year it is encouraging to see that the Award continues to flourish. Our judging panel have had the unenviable task of choosing 6 titles from a stellar list of 71 books and yet again they don’t disappoint. I would encourage our library members to reserve copies of the shortlist from their local library and choose their particular favourite before the announcement of the winner on Thursday 22nd May.”
The international panel of judges who has selected the shortlist and will also select the ultimate winner, features
Gerbrand Bakker, Dutch author and winner of the Dublin Literary Award (formerly IMPAC Prize) in 2010;
Martina Devlin, award winning Irish author and newspaper columnist; Fiona
Sze-Lorrain, writer, poet, translator, musician and editor based in Paris;
Prof. Leonard Cassuto, professor of American literature at Fordham University, freelance literary journalist, columnist, editor and author; and
Nidhi Zak/Aria Eipe, poet, pacifist and editor based in Dublin. The non-voting Chairperson is
Professor Chris Morash, the Seamus Heaney Professor of Irish Writing at Trinity College Dublin.
The six member international judging panel, chaired by Prof. Chris Morash, will select one winner, which will be announced by the Patron of the Award, the Lord Mayor of Dublin Emma Blain on Thursday 22nd May during the International Literature Festival Dublin (ILFD) which runs from the 16th to the 25th May 2025 in Merrion Square Park.
The novels nominated and shortlisted for the Award will be available for readers to borrow from Dublin City Libraries and from public libraries around Ireland, or can be borrowed as eBooks and some as eAudiobooks on the free Borrowbox app, available to all public library users.