Marzahn, Mon Amour by Katja Oskamp

World's Largest Literary Prize-$$$-2023 Dublin Literary Award

Marzahn, mon amour by Katja Oskamp translated from the original German by Jo Heinrich has won the world’s largest literary prize—the Dublin Literary Award.

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A woman approaching the 'invisible years' of middle age abandons her failing writing career to retrain as a chiropodist in the East Berlin suburb of Marzahn, once the GDR's largest prefabricated housing estate. From her intimate vantage point at the foot of the clinic chair, she observes her clients and co-workers, listening to their stories with empathy and curiosity. Part memoir, part collective history, Katja Oskamp's love letter to the inhabitants of Marzahn is a tender reflection on life's progression.

German cover:

Nominated by Stadtbüchereien Düsseldorf in Germany

Nominations are made by libraries.

1. Dublin Literary Award | From the home of literature, the Dublin Literary Award is proudly sponsored by Dublin City Council & administered by Dublin City Libraries. At the heart of the Dublin Literary Award is a vast network of libraries; not just the network of Dublin City Libraries who have happily been serving communities since 1884 but libraries in cities, big and small around the world.

Dublin Literary Award honours excellence in world literature since 1996. Presented annually, the Award is one of the most significant literature prizes in the world, worth €100,000 for a single work of fiction in original English or translated into English. If the winning book is in English translation, the author receives €75,000 and the translator, €25,000.

Each year, a longlist is created of nominated books from invited public libraries in cities around the world. Our esteemed panel of judges then face the monumental task of narrowing these titles down to a shortlist of no more than ten titles. From this shortlist of exceptional work, one winner is selected and announced in a ceremony during the International Literature Festival Dublin.