AP

Colm Toibin’s ‘The Magician’ wins Folio Prize for literature

Mar 22, 2022, 12:30 AM | Updated: 12:47 pm

FILE - Author Colm Toibin poses for photographers during the photo call for Brooklyn, in London, Oc...

FILE - Author Colm Toibin poses for photographers during the photo call for Brooklyn, in London, Oct. 12, 2015. “The Magician” by Irish writer Colm Toibin has won Britain’s Rathbones Folio Prize for literature. Toibin’s fictionalized account of the life of German writer Thomas Mann beat seven other finalists to the multi-genre 30,000 pound ($40,000) prize on Tuesday, March 22, 2022. (Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP, File)

(Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP, File)

LONDON (AP) — “The Magician” by Irish writer Colm Toibin won Britain’s Rathbones Folio Prize for literature on Tuesday.

Toibin’s fictionalized account of the life of German writer Thomas Mann beat seven other finalists to the multi-genre 30,000 pound ($40,000) prize, including South African writer Damon Galgut’s Booker Prize-winning novel “The Promise,” Selima Hill’s poetry collection “Men Who Feed Pigeons” and Philip Hoare’s art history book “Albert and the Whale.”

Toibin, whose novels include “Brooklyn” and “The Master,” was a previous Folio Prize finalist in 2015 for “Nora Webster” and has been on the Booker Prize shortlist three times.

The jury of three other writers — Tessa Hadley, William Atkins and Rachel Long — said they surprised themselves by reaching a unanimous decision. They said Toibin’s book “is such a capacious, generous, ambitious novel, taking in a great sweep of 20th century history yet rooted in the intimate detail of one man’s private life.”

Founded in 2013 to rival the prestigious Booker Prize, the Folio is open to fiction, nonfiction and poetry from anywhere in the world published in Britain. This year’s finalists came from the U.K., Ireland and South Africa.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

AP

Image: A cargo ship is stuck under the part of the structure of the Francis Scott Key Bridge after ...

Associated Press

Authorities identify 2 bodies recovered at site of Baltimore bridge collapse

A major bridge in Baltimore snapped and collapsed after a container ship rammed into it early Tuesday, and several vehicles fell into the river below.

1 day ago

Photo: Mountaineer Jim Whittaker has died at 95....

Gene Johnson, The Associated Press

Lou Whittaker, among the most famous American mountaineers, has died at age 95

Lou Whittaker, a legendary American mountaineer who helped lead ascents of Mount Everest, K2 and Denali, has died at age 95.

1 day ago

File photo: Former Sen. Joe Lieberman speaks in Washington on Jan. 18, 2024....

Associated Press

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

Former U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who nearly won the vice presidency on the Democratic ticket with Al Gore in 2000, has died.

1 day ago

islamic state attack...

Vanessa Gera, The Associated Press

What we know after the Islamic State group claims responsibility for Moscow massacre

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for an attack on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed at least 133 people.

5 days ago

Moscow shooting...

The Associated Press

Russia: 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility

Assailants burst into a concert hall in Moscow on Friday and sprayed the crowd with gunfire, killing over 60 people, injuring more than 100.

6 days ago

Photo: Britain's Kate, Duchess of Cambridge visits 282 (East Ham) Squadron, RAF Air Cadets, Cornwel...

Associated Press

Kate Middleton announces she has cancer, is undergoing chemotherapy

Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, says she is undergoing chemotherapy to treat cancer. She has been out of view since Christmas.

6 days ago

Colm Toibin’s ‘The Magician’ wins Folio Prize for literature