Mikhail Shishkin Wins Major International Prize

Mikhail Shishkin’s Maidenhair («Венерин волос») has won the 2011 Haus der Kulturen der Welt International Literature Award, given annually to the best work of international literature translated into German. A distinguished jury chose Shishkin’s masterful novel from over 100 translations from 24 languages submitted by publishers from all over the German-speaking world. 

This prize, shared between author and translator, is one of many successes for this much-garlanded masterpiece. On its release in 2005 Maidenhair was met with an ecstatic critical response and was awarded the National Bestseller and Big Book Awards. Both the Italian and French translations have also won prizes, so the forthcoming English translation by Marian Schwartz is eagerly-awaited. 

Maidenhair is a lyrical and philosophical exploration of themes of love and history over three narrative strands drawing on Shishkin’s own experience—the life of an interpreter, the refugee stories he hears, and the diary of a Russian singer. An extract in English from Maidenhair (translated as as Venus Hair) can be found in Rossica 19, while Shishkin’s latest novel Letterbook features in Rossica 22.