Thursday 12 August 2010

Corine International Book Awards

The Corine International Book Awards were (take a deep breath here) "created in order to promote the cultural and economic relevance of the medium book at one of the world’s foremost publishing places which is Munich and to further promote reading and to explore new fields to readers."

They go to both German and international writers, a nice touch that pretty much reflects how the German book market works. And despite them being awarded by the wealthy state of Bavaria, no actual money goes to the winners. But they do have the advantage of being announced right in the middle of the summer holiday season, when - as you may have noticed - nothing else is going on whatsoever.

So marvel, dear readers, at the eight winners in various categories. The most interesting for German book lovers being Hans Joachim Schädlich for his slice of historical literary fiction Kokoshkin's Journey. Looks like it'd be a perfect candidate for translation: Nazis, Russians - and only 192 pages.

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