Awards: Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement; Alternative Nobel

John Irving is this year's recipient of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize's Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award, which recognizes authors for their complete body of work. Irving will be presented with the award October 28 during the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Gala.

"John Irving's body of work creates worlds that allow the reader to explore the contradictions of twisted morality, the consequences of suspicions of the other, the absurdities of pride and ignorance, and the tragedy of a lack of sympathy and empathy for our fellow humans: characteristics that make peace unreachable," said Sharon Rab, founder and chair of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation. "Through books--especially Irving's books--readers learn to understand and identify with people who are different from themselves."

Irving commented: "Novels and stories invite people into a writer's worldview. For forty years and counting, I've written about sexual difference and sexual minorities--at times, when the prevailing literary culture labeled it bizarre or niche. I've written with the hope that the bigotry, hatred, and flat-out violence perpetrated on sexual minorities would become a relic of the past. In that sense I've written in protest--I've written protest novels. And yet, if I've written characters whose stories give them access to the breadth of human experience and emotion, I've done my job as a writer. Novels are my platform; if a prize helps bring attention to my subject matter, then I welcome it."

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A longlist has been unveiled and voting has begun for the New Academy's international prize in literature, which was created in response to the Swedish Academy's decision not to award a Nobel Prize in Literature this year in the wake of a highly-publicized scandal. More than 100 Swedish writers, actors, journalists and other cultural figures formed the New Academy, which will hand out its own award this autumn, following the same timeline as the Nobel.

"Our ambition is to select a winning author who has given people stories about the humans of our world. The nomination period has ended and now it is up to the people of the world to participate in the selection for the final judging," the academy stated.

Votes may be cast here, and the voting closes on August 14. The votes will single out three authors, while a fourth author will enter the final judging based on the initial nomination round. The winner will be announced October 14 and presented at a formal event with a grand celebration December 10. The New Academy will be dissolved December 11.

Describing the longlist as "a wonderfully eclectic lineup of authors," the Guardian noted: "Perhaps the most striking detail of all is found not in the names, but the fine print. The New Academy is enforcing a gender quota on the shortlist stage, stipulating that it comprises two men and two women. How different this is to the Nobel, which counts among its 114 winners just 14 women."

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