Lojman by Ebru Ojen, translated by Aron Aji and Selin Gökçesu (City Lights Publishers) has won the second annual Republic of Consciousness Prize, U.S. and Canada, designed to celebrate "the commitment of independent presses to fiction of exceptional literary merit."
Prize founder and jury chair Lori Feathers said: "On behalf of the prize jury, I congratulate City Lights Publishers, author Ebru Ojen, and translators Aron Aji and Selin Gökçesu for this arresting novel set in Turkish Kurdistan. We believe that Lojman and its journey to North American readers exemplifies the passion, vision, and risk-taking for which the Prize was founded. It is our hope that this recognition will bring new readers to Ms. Ojen's work and foster City Lights' commitment to surprising and original fiction."
A total of $35,000 will be distributed to the presses, authors, and translators named as finalists for the prize. Each press included in the longlist will receive $2,000. The five shortlisted books will be awarded an additional $3,000 each, split equally between the publisher and author, or publisher, author, and translator, where applicable.