<i>912 Batu Road</i> longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award

Author Viji Krishnamoorthy's debut novel, 912 Batu Road, published by Clarity Publishing, has been longlisted for the 2023 Dublin Literary Award. The novel chronicles two Malayan families' ordeal through World War II and later in the early 2000s, when their descendants' forbidden love affair threatens to endanger ties between the families.

The publisher, Clarity Publishing, is an independent publisher and copywriter based in Penang focused on "producing high-quality illustrated books that bring together great stories with outstanding design, photography and artwork." Besides 912 Batu Road, other works published by Clarity include Kings of Chinatown by William Tham Wai Liang and What Has Happened to Harry Pillai? by Shivani Sivagurunathan.

The International Dublin Literary Award, established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1994, is presented each year to a novel written or translated into English with the aim of promoting excellence in world literature. It is sponsored by the Dublin City Council in Ireland and at €100,000, the award is considered one of the richest literary prizes in the world.

Nominees for the award are picked by public libraries from major cities all over. Seventy books have been longlisted this year, including How High We Go In The Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu, Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan, The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles, and The Magician by Colm Tóibín.

The shortlist will be revealed on 28 March and the winner will be announced by the Lord Mayor of Dublin on 25 May as part of the International Literature Festival Dublin, which is also funded by the Dublin City Council.

Get 912 Batu Road here and perhaps you'll learn why it was nominated. Competition for the award is fierce but we're rooting for the author.

All the best!