Antonio Tabucchi
- Lived
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Antonio Tabucchi was an Italian writer and academic who taught Portuguese language and literature at the University of Siena, Italy
Deeply in love with Portugal, he was an expert, critic and translator of the works of Fernando Pessoa from whom he drew the conceptions of saudade, of fiction and of the heteronyms. His books and essays have been translated in 18 countries. Together with his wife, María José de Lancastre, he translated many works by Pessoa into Italian and has written a book of essays and a comedy about the writer. Tabucchi was awarded the French prize ‘Médicis étranger’ for Indian Nocturne (Notturno Indiano) and the Premio Campiello, and the Aristeion Prize for Sostiene Pereira.
Antonio Tabucchi was shortlisted, for his entire body of work, for The Man Booker International Prize in both 2005 and 2009.
Background
Between 2005 - 2015, the Man Booker International Prize recognised one writer for their achievement in fiction.
Worth £60,000, the prize was awarded every two years to a living author who had published fiction either originally in English or whose work is generally available in translation in the English language.
The winner was chosen solely at the discretion of the judging panel and there were no submissions from publishers.
The Man Booker International Prize was different from the annual Man Booker Prize for Fiction in that it highlighted one writer’s overall contribution to fiction on the world stage. In focusing on overall literary excellence, the judges considered a writer’s body of work rather than a single novel.