The 12 winners of the 2017 European Union Prize for Literature, recognizing "outstanding new and emerging literary talents across Europe," can be seen here.
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Maylis de Kerangal has been awarded the 2017 Wellcome Book Prize for Mend the Living, translated by Jessica Moore from the French. This marks the first time a novel in translation has won the £30,000 (about $38,350) prize, which recognizes a work of fiction or nonfiction with "a central theme that engages with some aspect of medicine, health or illness." This is also only the second time a novel has won the prize.
The judging panel praised the author's "beautiful style in this exploration of the emotional, physical and practical complexities of organ donation, reflecting the fragility and fluidity of life."
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Eliza McGraw has won the 11th annual Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award, which honors books with a horse racing background, for Here Comes Exterminator! The Longshot Horse, the Great War, and the Making of an American Hero (Thomas Dunne Books).
Award organizers described the book as chronicling "the life of early 20th century champion Exterminator and the broader world in which he lived. It was the Cinderella story of an unlikely hero--an off-bred, unattractive gelding nicknamed 'Old Bones' for his gaunt, leggy appearance, who burst from nowhere to win 50 races, including the 1918 Kentucky Derby. Much like Zenyatta and California Chrome a century later, Exterminator became a fan favorite, drawing enthusiastic crowds wherever he went, and even appearing in early film newsreels."
Lead judge Kay Coyte commented: "McGraw is an elegant, accessible writer, and a thorough historian. Exterminator reads as smoothly as fiction and is a book that both racing fans and neophytes to the sport would enjoy."