WLF Prize in Literature 2023

[errequatro]

Sorry guys, I am going through difficult days (work-related, mainly, but nothing to worry about)... So I am going to keep my post short.

These are my votes, with an idication of what I have read):

1) António Lobo Antunes (nearly everything he has written, minus his latest O Tamanho do Mundo)
2) Jon Fosse (Septolpogy)
3) Scholastique Mukasonga (Our Lady of The Nile, Igifu, Cockroaches)

Now, even though this has not a particulalry difficult vote (for obvious reasons), contrary to other years I rated every candidate very highlighly.
Both Mukasonga and Fosse are incredible writers and deserving of our humble prize (and higher ones too). Pair them with a different writer and they're game.

very very good shortlist we had this year.

 

[hayden]

For what looked like a runaway, this is getting close

 

[redhead]

Are we waiting for anyone else to vote?

 

[Bartleby]

Are we waiting for anyone else to vote?

I don't think there's any need... good that Errequatro managed to vote earlier this morning, when I was still sleeping hehe

just computing the votes and everything. Coming right up

 

[Bartleby]

So here we go... a spoiler: the race was close!

We had 16 votes (2 more than last year), and they were from:

1) Jon Fosse
2) Scholastique Mukasonga
3) António Lobo Antunes

1) Jon Fosse
2) Antonio Lobo Antunes
3) Scholastique Mukasonga

1) Jon Fosse
2) Antonio Lobo Antunes
3) Scholastique Mukasonga

1) Jon Fosse
2) António Lobo Antunes
3) Scholastique Mukasonga

1) Jon Fosse
2) Antonio Lobo Antunes
3) Scholastique Mukasonga

1. Jon Fosse
2. Scholastique Mukasonga
3. Antonio Lobo Anuntes

1) Jon Fosse
2) Scholastique Mukasonga
3) Antonio Lobo Antunes

1) António Lobo Antunes
2) Jon Fosse
3) Scholastique Mukasonga

1) Jom Fosse
2) Antonio Lobo Antunes
3) Scholastique Mukasonga

1) Jon Fosse
2) António Lóbo Antunes
3) Scholastique Mukasonga

1) Antonio Lobo Antunes
2) Jon Fosse
3) Scholastique Mukasonga

1. Antonio Lobo Antunes
2. Jon Fosse
3. Scholastique Mukasonga

1) Antonio Lobo Antunes
2) Jon Fosse
3) Scholastique Mukasonga

1) Antonio Lobo Antunes
2) Scholastique Mukasonga
3) Jon Fosse

1) António Lobo Antunes
2) Jon Fosse
3) Scholastique Mukasonga

1) António Lobo Antunes
2) Jon Fosse
3) Scholastique Mukasonga

Applying the same rule as last year's, where each voter's first pick got 3 points, the second 2, and the third 1, here are the results:

Jon Fosse (total= 40 pts)
1st 9 - 27 pts
2nd 6 - 12 pts
3rd 1 - 1pt

António Lobo Antunes (total = 37 pts)
1st 7 - 21 pts
2nd 7 - 14 pts
3rd 2 - 2 pts

Scholastique Mukasonga (total= 20 pts)
1st 0 - 0 pts
2nd 4 - 8 pts
3rd 12 - 12 pts

Therefore, the winner of the 2023 WLF Prize in Literature, and the one who takes his Wolfie home is clearly...

Jon Fosse

Congratulations to the author! And thank you very much everyone who participated in these readings, the selection process, the general discussions, or anyone really just rooting for this project to work!

Let's now celebrate Fosse by writing him a thoughtful citation, what do you think? Also counting on @hayden to produce one of his beautifully made diplomas!

See you again next year!

 

[Benny Profane]

Tied decision!

 

[Liam]

To all the people who had predicted A.L.A. as the winner:

"Here's a hanky. You're gonna need it. I'm afraid I've got some devastating news..." ?

 

[redhead]

To all the people who had predicted A.L.A. as the winner:

"Here's a hanky. You're gonna need it. I'm afraid I've got some devastating news..." ?

Lol that was me, and I’m quite happy to have been wrong!

 

[Liam]

Moving on. When and where do we submit our choices for next year's contest? ?

 

[Bartleby]

Moving on. When and where do we submit our choices for next year's contest? ?

Liammmmmm!!!

?

 

[Leseratte]

So here we go... a spoiler: the race was close!

We had 16 votes (2 more than last year), and they were from:



Applying the same rule as last year's, where each voter's first pick got 3 points, the second 2, and the third 1, here are the results:



Therefore, the winner of the 2023 WLF Prize in Literature, and the one who takes his Wolfie home is clearly...

Jon Fosse

Congratulations to the author! And thank you very much everyone who participated in these readings, the selection process, the general discussions, or anyone really just rooting for this project to work!

Let's now celebrate Fosse by writing him a thoughtful citation, what do you think? Also counting on @hayden to produce one of his beautifully made diplomas!

See you again next year!

A bit sad about the other two

 

[Leseratte]

Thanks, Bartleby,for taking care of this and so quickly!

 

[hayden]

Also counting on @hayden to produce one of his beautifully made diplomas!

?


jk jk, I'll get on it ? — gotta think of an idea or two first... minimalist, melancholy, nature, rhythm... bleak, yet rustic— ... should be able to whip something up. (I'll leave the citation to someone who can write better).

Obviously very happy with this outcome (because... well, it was the order of my ballot). At the beginning of the session I actually thought Lobo Antunes would win (primarily due to how many votes he got in the nomination process). I still hope to read more by both of them, and, honestly, would've been happy either way. Mukasonga would have been a major surprise, but I would still have been welcome to her coming out on top. I'm glad she's among the finalists, regardless the outcome— she's still a top-tier memoirist.

I also think, for the first time, we may precursor the Nobel. I still have a very very strong feeling it's Fosse's year.

See? Obviously Nobel material. Just look at that... tie-scarf... thing.

 

[Ben Jackson]

Here's the citation for Jon Fosse:

WLF Prize Laureate for 2023 is Jon Fosse "for outstanding productions which with musical flow and clear-sightenedness illuminate the essence of reality and being."

 

[Ben Jackson]

Moving on. When and where do we submit our choices for next year's contest? ?

I think Bartleby said it was going to be a week after the Nobel Literature announcement. So no rush.

Very happy with the outcome this year. At first when I read Antunes, I was actually thinking he was going to win. I mean he has the productions that can garner him not just this prize but the Nobel as well (though I feel his time has slightly passed). But when I read Fosse's Septology, something told me it was going Fosse's way. And Fosse it went. I knew Mukasonga didn't have a chance against the other two, her oeuvre been not there with the rest.

Many thanks ? to Bartleby once again for the set-up and organization. I did expected more people to have cast their votes this year: Daniel, Tiganeasca, to name just a few.

As for next year, would it make sense if we decide to conduct an all female writers nominations (I mean members casting their votes for only female writers, thereby producing female writers shortlist)?

 

[sibkron]

As for next year, would it make sense if we decide to conduct an all female writers nominations (I mean members casting their votes for only female writers, thereby producing female writers shortlist)?

This is very good idea)

 

[namelesshere]

This is very good idea)

I had kind of decided to do this myself anyway. Louise Erdrich, Anne Carson, Alexis Wright, Lyudmilla Ulitskaya, Jamaica Kincaid, Yoko Tawada... plenty of very deserving nominees. Whether we need to mandate it or not, i'll leave to the hivemind.

 

[Ludus]

As for next year, would it make sense if we decide to conduct an all female writers nominations (I mean members casting their votes for only female writers, thereby producing female writers shortlist)?

Perfect!

 

[nagisa]

I had kind of decided to do this myself anyway. Louise Erdrich, Anne Carson, Alexis Wright, Lyudmilla Ulitskaya, Jamaica Kincaid, Yoko Tawada... plenty of very deserving nominees. Whether we need to mandate it or not, i'll leave to the hivemind.

But what about perfectly pure and objective and measurable literary meeeeeeeeeeerit. It shouldn't matter if it's 157 men in a row, or 27 English speakers in a row. Why are we not trusting ourselves to "make [our] choice based on the quality of an author's oeuvre, regardless of language, nationality, gender, etc" /s

Facetiousness aside: I was also going to do this myself, and I would not be unhappy to see it mandated too.

 

[Bartleby]

I had kind of decided to do this myself anyway. Louise Erdrich, Anne Carson, Alexis Wright, Lyudmilla Ulitskaya, Jamaica Kincaid, Yoko Tawada... plenty of very deserving nominees. Whether we need to mandate it or not, i'll leave to the hivemind.

I did that the first year, nominating Ernaux (who went on to win the Nobel the next year - would've been funny to have discussed her more in depth prior to her being a Nobel laureate), Carson, and Can Xue, the latter being eventually "shortlisted", but I did so out of pure randomness, with the thought that the candidates would make for particularly good discussions since they are not necessarily everyone's pick, especially Can Xue...

About nominating only women writers for next year: it is something that can be agreed upon, but given that the nominations are made secret (in Nobel fashion), it's hard to make it mandatory... but, well, if everyone agrees on it, there can always be a rule for making a nomination invalid if not all of the writers are women... you guys decide