Asian Literary Prize on the hunt for new sponsor
19th October 2012 - 1:25pm
The organisers of Asia's most prestigious prize for literature are looking for a new sponsor after the Man Group announced it will end its funding of the award in 2013.
The Asian Literary Prize, which Man has sponsored since its launch in 2007, is an annual literary award given to the best novel by an Asian writer either written in English or translated into English.
The news that Man Group will no longer sponsor the award, which aims to raise appreciation of Asian literature, comes days after Hilary Mantel won her second Man Booker Prize for Bring up the Bodies.
David Parker, the Asian Literary Prize's executive director, said in a statement: 'We look forward to the future with a new partner, confident that Asian fiction is now beginning to win the global readership and recognition it deserves.'
The prize's most recent winner, Please Look After Mom by South Korean writer Kyung-sook Shin, recently sold its two millionth copy worldwide.
A Man spokesman said the group remained 'totally committed' to the Booker Prize and its subsidiary awards, which include the Man Booker International Prize.
The longlist for this year's Man Asian Literary Prize will be announced on December 4th.