Dutch author Gerbrand Bakker's debut novel, The Twin (Boven is het stil), won the €100,000 (US$123,793) International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, besting a shortlist that included Marilynne Robinson's Home and Joseph O'Neill's Netherland, the Guardian reported.
After hearing he had won, Bakker said, "It's wonderful. But for me it was also wonderful to read the book in English--I said to David [Colmer] the translator: 'Who wrote this book?' I didn't recognize it, I thought it was very good. It made me realize it really is a book, and I am a writer." The prize money will be divided between Bakker and Colmer, with the translator receiving €25,000.
Published in the U.S. by Archipelago Books, The Twin has also been honored as an NPR pick for Best Foreign Fiction of the Year, a Powell's Indiespensable Pick and a School Library Journal Best Adult Book for High School Students.
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Moonlight in Odessa by Janet Skeslien Charles won the 2010 Melissa Nathan Award for Comedy Romance.
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The Society of Authors distributed more than £70,000 (US$103,642) in prize money to 22 writers at its awards reception earlier this week. A complete list of winners is available here.