LONDON – Indian-Canadian writer Rohinton Mistry has won the 2012 Neustadt International Prize for Literature. An international jury from nine countries selected Mistry for the biennial prize
“I am delighted with the news,” said Mistry. “It is, needless to say, an honour to join the list of Neustadt laureates. But it is equally so to be among the many nominees for the prize – a quick glance will reveal as much, whether one looks at the 2012 authors or the lists for previous years.” reports thechronicleherald.ca.
Jury member Samrat Upadhyay nominated Mistry for the award.
“Mistry writes with great passion, and his body of work shows the most compassionate and astute observations of the human condition, making him one of the most exciting and important contemporary novelists writing in the English language,” he said.
This is not Mistry’s first brush with international awards. His novel, A Fine Balance won the Scotiabank Giller Prize and was chosen for Oprah’s Book Club in 2001 and Family Matters won the Timothy Findley Award from the Writers’ Trust of Canada. His first novel, 1991′s Such a Long Journey, won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and the Governor General’s Award. Three of his novels have also been nominated for the Man Booker Prize.
