2009 Winner

2009

Nominated by National Library Service of Barbados, Bridgetown

Judges

Gabrielle Alioth

Gabrielle Alioth

Gabrielle Alioth was born 1955 in Basel, Switzerland, and having studied economics (M.A.) and the history of art worked in econometric forecasting before emigrating to Ireland in 1984. Her first novel „Der Narr“ („The Fool“) was published in 1990. It received the Hamburg literary award for best first novel. Her seventh and most recent novel „The Bride from Byzantium“ appeared in 2008. She also writes children´s and travel books. Gabrielle does extensive reading tours in Europe, India, Canada and the United States. She was a member of the Irish delegation at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 1996 and member of the Swiss delegation in 1998. She was also Guest lecturer at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles (1997) and at the Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, (2002); and Writer in Residence at University College Dublin (2005/6). Since 2004 she has been a lecturer at the Lucerne School of Art and Design. She lives in Julianstown, County Meath.

James Ryan

James Ryan

James Ryan is a native of Rathdowney, Co Laois and a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin. His postgraduate studies, also at Trinity, focused primarily on creative development. His first novel, Home from England, was published by Phoenix House, London in 1995. Dismantling Mr Doyle followed in 1997 and his third novel, Seeds of Doubt, was published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson in 2001. South of the Border, his most recent novel was short-listed for the 2008 Kerry Group Literary prize.  He is a lecturer in the School of English, Drama and Film in UCD, currently directing the postgraduate programme in creative writing.

Rachel Billington

Rachel Billington

Rachel Billington worked in television in London and New York before taking up full-time writing. Her first novel All Things Nice is set in New York.
RB has written nineteen adult novels, four childrens’ novels, five religious books for children and three non-fiction books. Her latest novel is Lies & Loyalties published in 2008. RB has also written and continues to write journalism for newspapers both in the UK and the US, including a three year stint as a columnist for The Sunday Telegraph.
RB was President of English PEN, the writers organisation from 1998-2001 and remains a Vice-president. During her time as President RB initiated PEN’s Readers & Writers Programme which sends books and writers to meet readers in schools and prisons. RB is a Trustee of the Longford Trust which was set up in memory of her father, Lord Longford. In 1991 RB became a member of the editorial team of Inside Time, the national newspaper for prisoners.

Timothy Taylor

Timothy Taylor

Timothy Taylor is an award winning novelist and journalist. His novels – Stanley Park (2001) and Story House (2006) – were national bestsellers and he has received nominations for numerous literary prizes including the Giller Prize, the Writers Trust Fiction Prize, and both the Vancouver and British Columbia Book Awards. His short story collection Silent Cruise (2002) earned him the Journey Prize and second place in the Danuta Gleed Award, given to the best collection of stories published in Canada in a given year. Taylor is also the winner of three National Magazine Awards. He lives in Vancouver where he splits his time between fiction, writing for screen and journalism. He’s a contributing editor at enRoute Magazine and Vancouver Magazine, and a columnist for the Globe and Mail.

Vesna Goldsworthy

Vesna Goldsworthy

Timothy Taylor is an award winning novelist and journalist. His novels – Stanley Park (2001) and Story House (2006) – were national bestsellers and he has received nominations for numerous literary prizes including the Giller Prize, the Writers Trust Fiction Prize, and both the Vancouver and British Columbia Book Awards. His short story collection Silent Cruise (2002) earned him the Journey Prize and second place in the Danuta Gleed Award, given to the best collection of stories published in Canada in a given year. Taylor is also the winner of three National Magazine Awards. He lives in Vancouver where he splits his time between fiction, writing for screen and journalism. He’s a contributing editor at enRoute Magazine and Vancouver Magazine, and a columnist for the Globe and Mail.

SHORTLIST LIBRARIES

Norway
Sølvberget Library and Culture Centre is the main library in Stavanger and a hub for cultural activities in the Rogaland Region. Its central location and..
France
The Municipal Library with Regional Vocation of Nice, BMVR includes all the municipal libraries: the Louis Nucera library, the Raoul Mille library, the Romain Gary..
USA
The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also the Library for..
Canada
The mission of the Cape Breton Regional Library is to strengthen and inspire our communities by providing quality collections, cultural resources, programs and services in..
USA
The Cleveland Public Library is a public library system in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded in 1869, it had a circulation of 3.5 million items in 2020.
Ireland
Cork City Libraries is a service of Cork City Council. Cork City Libraries provides a range of library and information services to the people of..
Ireland
Dublin City Council’s mission is to “provide quality services for its citizens and visitors and act to protect and promote Dublin’s distinct identity in a..
USA
The mission of the Free Library of Philadelphia is to advance literacy, guide learning, and inspire curiosity. Its vision is to build an enlightened community..
Ireland
The Galway Library Service consists of 29 libraries in total across the City and County. The 3 libraries in the City are purpose built, full time..
USA
The Houston Public Library system serves the City’s culturally diverse community by offering a broad program of free educational, informational and recreational activities through a..
Lebannon
Jafet Library at the American University of Beirut (AUB) is one such repository of primary sources that might inspire researchers to think critically when building..
United Kingdom
The Library of Birmingham is a public library in Birmingham, England. It is situated on the west side of the city centre at Centenary Square,..
USA
The new library made its grand opening to the public on February 21, 1977 with a collection of over 250,000 volumes. The building was noted..
Germany
With around two million books and media as well as numerous events, the city library is a crowd puller in Munich. Its headquarters have been..
Czech Republic
The so-called Idiom, a column made of 8,000 books, has been present in the vestibule of the Central Library at Mariánské Square since 1998. The..
Barbados
The mission of the National Library Service is to serve the Barbadian community as a ready source of dynamic information products and services.
USA
The New Hampshire State Library is the first state library in America and was founded on January 25, 1717.
USA
“The New York Public Library has provided essential access to books and information for more than a century. Today, we are building on that legacy..
Belgium
‘De Krook’ opened the 10th of March 2017. The complex contains the library of Gent but also offices and laboratories of the university of Gent..
USA
The City of San Diego Public Library serves the informational, educational and recreational interests of San Diego through 35 branches, Central Library, the READ/San Diego..
Australia
The State Library of South Australia, or SLSA, formerly known as the Public Library of South Australia, located on North Terrace, Adelaide, is the official..
Sweden
Did you know that the library is always open? It is if you visit the library online via a computer, mobile phone or tablet PC…
Belgium
The Bib Leuven gives its visitors the opportunity to immerse themselves in information, literature and culture.
Germany
The University and State Library of Bonn (ULB Bonn) is the central university and archive library of the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. The University and State..

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