Malaysian author Tan Twan Eng wins 2013 Man Asian Literary Prize

Hong Kong, China (4E) – Malaysian author Tan Twan Eng has won the 2013 Man Asian Literary Prize for his novel “The Garden of Evening Mists.”

“Achieved with the seemingly effortless poise of a remarkable fictional artistry, Tan Twan Eng’s winning novel will be prized by all those who cannot resist the mastery of language,” said Professor David Parker, Executive Director of the Asian Literary Prize.

The novel, said to be written with “stylistic poise and probing intelligence” is set in the traumatic aftermath of the Japanese occupation of Malaya and its post-war insurgency against British rule.

Tan Twan Eng is the first Malaysian to ever win the prestigious award. This is the second time that a novel originally written in English won the award; the first was in 2008 with the novel “Ilustrado” by Miguel Syjuco (Philippines). All previous winning novels were English translations.

This year’s winner won a cash prize of $30,000. The four other shortlisted novels are “Between Clay and Dust” by Musharraf Ali Farooqi (Pakistan), “The Briefcase” by Hiromi Kawakami (Japan), “Silent House” by Orhan Pamuk (Turkey), and “Narcopolis” by Jeet Thayil (India).

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