Not that I was planning to join the Man Asian Literary Prize this year, but this "restructuring" (via Philippine Genre Stories blog) has given me something to think about.
The prize, prior to the rule change, was given to authors of previously unpublished novels (or translations of novels). To me, that meant that one day if I finally get around to writing something serious there would be a waiting international platform for its recognition if it turned out to be any good.
(That's a lot of "ifs.")
Now that the prize will be more like its older sibling/cousin the Man Booker, it'll be awarded to published work. Which means that I don't just have to finish something, and have it be good -- a publisher should actually publish it, and depending on the new rules, possibly consider it worth submitting along with whatever brilliant thing was published the same year.
Hurdles. Not necessarily relevant to me at this point, but I feel for the writers inspired by Miguel Syjuco and were probably a year away from the Man Asian themselves. If the rules weren't changed.
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