One thousand free copies of the 2021 International Booker Prize-winning book are being released into city libraries for the Big Coventry Booker Read - a city-wide virtual book group bringing residents together to read and discuss the novel.
People of all ages and walks of life across the city, including avid readers, book club members, students and young people, are being invited to join in between 5 July and 31 August, as part of UK City of Culture.
At Night All Blood is Black, written by David Diop and translated from French by Anna Moschovakis, was announced as the winner of the 2021 International Booker Prize during a virtual celebration from Coventry Cathedral on 2 June.
The novel, chosen from a shortlist of six books, portrays a young man's descent into madness and tells the little-heard story of the Senegalese who fought for France on the Western Front during World War I.
This project will culminate in a major event with the winning author and translator during the last week of August in Coventry. The city will also host the shortlisted author event for the 2021 Booker Prize for Fiction later this year.
Additionally, a translation workshop hosted by one of the shortlisted translators for city-based writers who work in other languages, is planned for the Autumn.
Visit any of the public libraries in the city, Coventry University Library and University of Warwick Library to pick up a copy to keep or to share with friends. All libraries will also have copies available for loan and reading groups are invited to visit a library to pick up copies for their members.
Information about the virtual city-wide book club will be shared here: www.facebook.com/groups/CoventryLibrariesOnlineReadersGroup
Gaby Wood, the director of The Booker Prize Foundation, comments:
“At Night All Blood is Black is a book about a close friendship and a war that involved the world. Between those two extremes lie madness, misunderstanding and the strong pull of a faraway home. This powerful story of "chocolat" soldiers fighting for France begs to be shared and discussed - and it's a source of great excitement to those of us involved with the Booker Prizes that Coventry should become the capital of that experience.”
Cllr Dr Kindy Sandhu, Cabinet Member for Education and Skills for Coventry City Council, says:
“The International Booker is a hugely prestigious and much respected award. It has been incredibly rewarding for Coventry Library service to be so involved with the International Booker organisation in 2021 as part of City of Culture.
“Working in collaboration with our libraries providers across the city has given the opportunity to encourage and promote the diversity of the reading experience and ensure that together we can share it with large numbers of people.”
Chenine Bhathena, Creative Director of Coventry UK City of Culture, adds:
“We are delighted that the International Booker Prize is part of our Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 programme. This story depicts the horrors of war, and the deep physical and mental scars left behind. As UK City of Peace and reconciliation and home to so many who have fled from violence and destruction, this book is a portrait of one man’s war, but also a book quite unlike anything else, that you will want to read again and again.
“1000 free copies of this award-winning French novel will be available to people across the city to pick up and read and I really encourage everyone to dive into David’s extraordinary writing.”
Born in 1966 in Paris, David Diop is the first French author to win the International Booker Prize. Raised in Senegal, he now lives in France, where he is a professor of 18th-century literature at the University of Pau. At Night All Blood is Black is Diop’s second novel. He took inspiration from his Senegalese great-grandfather’s silence about his experiences in World War I.
The French edition of the novel, Frère d'âme, was shortlisted for 10 major prizes in France and won the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens as well as the Swiss Prix Ahmadou Korouma. It is currently being translated into 13 languages and has already won the Strega European Prize in Italy.
Anna Moschovakis is a poet, author and translator, whose works include the James Laughlin Award–winning poetry collection You and Three Others Are Approaching a Lake and a novel, Eleanor: or, The Rejection of the Progress of Love. Her translations from French include Albert Cossery’s The Jokers, Annie Ernaux’s The Possession, and Bresson on Bresson.
The International Booker Prize is awarded annually for the best single work of fiction translated into English and published in the UK and Ireland. It aims to encourage more publishing and reading of quality fiction from all over the world and to promote the work of translators. The £50,000 prize is split between author and translator, giving each equal recognition. Each shortlisted author and translator also receives £1,000.
The 2020 winner was The Discomfort of Evening, written by Marieke Lucas Rijneveld and translated by Michele Hutchison, which has sold over 50,000 copies of the UK edition and is being translated into 40 languages.
This year the judges considered 125 books and it was the first time the winner has been revealed outside of London.
Together, the two Booker Prizes reward the best fiction from around the globe that is published in English in the UK and Ireland.
The Booker Prizes are sponsored by Crankstart, a charitable foundation.