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Marozzi’s ‘Baghdad’ wins 2015 Ondaatje Prize

In the UK, the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize has been awarded to Justin Marozzi for his history book Baghdad: City of Peace, City of Blood (Penguin). The annual £10,000 (A$19,600) prize is presented for a ‘distinguished work of fiction, nonfiction or poetry, evoking the spirit of a place’. The 2015 judges were writers Tash Aw, Jonathan Keates and poet Fiona Sampson. Aw said, ‘Baghdad is at once a grand historical narrative and a personal homage to a beloved city. The weight of Marozzi’s scholarship is interlaced with a storyteller’s instinct for all that is intimate, unusual and moving.’ Marozzi said he was ‘deeply honoured and completely thrilled’ to receive the award. Baghdad was chosen from a shortlist of five, announced earlier this year. Read more about the award here.

 

Category: International news