€100k Impac prize ‘will pay for my daughter’s wedding’
AUTHOR Jim Crace has scooped the wealthiest prize in literature, the €100,000 International Impac Dublin Literary Award, and already knows how he is going to spend it – on his daughter’s impending wedding.
The British novelist is no stranger to the rollercoaster ride of being an award nominee, having won two Whitbread awards and been shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Yesterday he added the Impac to his awards haul for his work ‘Harvest’.
It has been a nervous few days for Crace since he learned of his win while on holiday – and was immediately sworn to secrecy by the Impac organisers.
“We were on the Isles of Scilly off the coast of Cornwall on a family holiday, looking for venues for my daughter’s wedding. I was thinking of the expense ahead when I got the call, so this will help – or maybe I won’t tell her,” he laughed.
What distinguishes the Impac from other awards – apart from the bumper cheque – is that public libraries around the world nominate their favourite titles.
“You never tire of getting awards,” Crace told the Irish Independent. “You get a taste for it rather than lose a taste for it.
“There aren’t as many opportunities to get your book known now...The way to get a foothold now is through prizes,” he explained.