Roger Robinson has won the £25,000 (about $32,460) 2019 T.S. Eliot Prize for A Portable Paradise (Peepal Tree Press). Chair of judges John Burnside said that the collection "finds in the bitterness of everyday experience continuing evidence of 'sweet, sweet life.' "
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John le Carré has been awarded the $100,000 Olof Palme Prize, which honors "outstanding achievement in the spirit of assassinated Swedish politician Olof Palme," the Bookseller reported. The organizers praised le Carré (a pseudonym for David Cornwell) for his "engaging and humanistic opinion making in literary form regarding the freedom of the individual and the fundamental issues of mankind." Previous winners of the prize have included Kofi Annan, Hans Blix and Amnesty International.
In a statement, the Olof Palme Memorial Fund said of the winner: "Attracting world-wide attention, he is constantly urging us to discuss the cynical power games of the major powers, the greed of global corporations, the irresponsible play of corrupt politicians with our health and welfare, the growing spread of international crime, the tension in the Middle East, and the alarming rise of fascism and xenophobia in Europe and the United States of America. In the spirit of Olof Palme, David Cornwell thus gives an extraordinary contribution to the necessary fight for freedom, democracy and social justice."
Le Carré said he will donate the prize money to Médecins Sans Frontières.