Posted on October 17, 2019 at 8:12 AM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

Time has yet to heal the wounds caused by two controversial literary awards.

Peter Handke, who received the 2019 Nobel Prize last Thursday, told Austrian journalists that he would never talk to the media again, according to the Guardian.

This declaration on Tuesday was his first public comment since the prize win, which has drawn much controversy.

Handke’s critics point to several reasons he shouldn’t have won the prize: his past comments in support of convicted war criminal Slobodan Milošević, his attendance of Milošević’s funeral, his denial of the Srebrenica genocide, and his suggestion that Sarajevo’s Muslims had massacred themselves.

Monday’s joint awarding of the Booker Prize has also stirred up drama, reports the Guardian.

Other authors, past Booker judges, and members of the publishing world are condemning the decision to divide the honors — and award money — between Margaret Atwood and Bernardine Evaristo.

Evaristo is the first black woman and the first black British author to receive the Booker, so many of these critics believe these “firsts” are losing some of their luster because of the sharing.

Said Eishar Brar, editorial director at publisher Knights Of: “The judges claim they wanted to acknowledge the importance of both books in their cultural context, but this decision completely ignores the context of Bernardine’s win.” 

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Categories: Today in Books

Tagged As: Awards, Scandal, The Guardian

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