Jon McGregor
Following being shortlisted in April, Honorary Lecturer Jon McGregor has gone on to beat the Pulitzer prize-winning American writer Jennifer Egan to win the International Impac Dublin Literary Award.
One of the world's richest literary awards, Jon won the prize for his third novel Even the Dogs, about an alcoholic who dies between Christmas and New Year. He was named winner of €100,000 (£80,000) award on Wednesday (13 June) evening.
The international judging panel called Even the Dogs "a fearless experiment" and a "masterpiece of narrative technique".
On receiving the award, Jon McGregor said:
"I'm absolutely delighted to have won this award, and to be bringing it home to Nottingham. The IMPAC Dublin Literary Award has always been a prize I've looked out for, as its shortlists have consistently featured books of real strength and international standing. It's one of the few prizes which considers works from anywhere in the world written in or translated into English, and as such has often highlighted real gems which might otherwise have gone unnoticed by the wider reading community. So to have received this award for Even the Dogs is a real honour. The money's not bad either."
Head of the School of English, Professor Julie Sanders, said:
“The School of English is brimming with pride at the announcement of Jon McGregor’s success in the IMPAC literary prize. Jon has been a wonderful presence in the School this year as an honorary lecturer, working with energy and verve alongside staff and students and taking part in highly successful public events at the Lakeside Theatre. We are simply delighted to see his outstanding writing honoured in this way.”
Further details on Jon McGregor’s book prize, including the official press release and Jon's acceptance speech, can be found here.
You can read the University's press release here.
Further media coverage can be found on The Guardian.
Posted on Thursday 14th June 2012