Turkish author Orhan Pamuk has won the prestigious €100,000 IMPAC Dublin Literary Award 2003, for his novel My Name is Red.
Mr Pamuk, whose work has been translated into 20 languages, beat Irish author John McGahern, whose novel That They May Face the Rising Sunwas shortlisted for the award.
The panel of international judges described the novel as a work of "intense beauty" that has a ""breathlessly urgent perspective". "It is a rare tour de force of literary imagination and philosophical speculation," the judges said.
The shortlist included three North Americans, a Swede, a South African and one of Portugal's leading writers.
Two international award-winning bestsellers featured in the list: Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections, which won the National Book Award 2001 and Swedish writer, Per Olov Enquist's The Visit of the Royal Physicianwon the French Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger 2000.
The veteran Swedish writer, Per Olov Enquist's The Visit of the Royal Physician (or as published in the US, The Royal Physician's Visit), has already won the French Prix du Meilleur Livre Etranger 2000. A murder mystery set in 16th-century Istanbul, Mr Pamuk's prize-winning work chronicles the turning point for a centuries-old Islamic tradition as Western culture encroaches.
Pamuk will receive €75,000 of the €100,000 prize money, with the rest going to his translator.
Last year's IMPAC was won by controversial French writer Michel Houellebecq for his novel Atomised..Nominations for the award are made by libraries in capital and major cities around the world.
The prize was set up in 1996 by Dublin City Council and the US management company IMPAC to underline Dublin's status as a literary centre.
Mr Pamuk will be presented with the prize by Dublin Lord Mayor Mr Dermot Lacey at a reception at the City Hall on June 14th.