Ondaatje Prize

The Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize is an annual literary award given by the Royal Society of Literature. The £10,000 award is for a work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry that evokes the "spirit of a place", and is written by someone who is a citizen of or who has been resident in the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland.[1]

Not to be confused with Royal Canadian Geographical Society § Sir Christopher Ondaatje Medal for Exploration.

Ondaatje Prize
Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize
Awarded for	work of fiction, non-fiction or poetry, "evoking the spirit of a place"
Sponsored by	Sir Christopher Ondaatje
Country	United Kingdom
Presented by	Royal Society of Literature
First awarded	2004 (2004)
Website	Official website

The prize bears the name of its benefactor Sir Christopher Ondaatje.[2] The prize incorporates the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize, which was presented up to 2002 for regional fiction.[3]

Winners

• 2020 Roger Robinson, A Portable Paradise[4]
• 2019 Aida Edemariam, The Wife’s Tale[5]
• 2018 Pascale Petit, Mama Amazonica[6]
• 2017 Francis Spufford, Golden Hill[7]
• 2016 Peter Pomerantsev, Nothing is True and Everything is Possible: The Surreal Heart of the New Russia[8]
• 2015 Justin Marozzi, Baghdad: City of Peace, City of Blood[9]
• 2014 Alan Johnson, This Boy: A Memoir of a Childhood[10]
• 2013 Philip Hensher, Scenes from Early Life[11]
• 2012 Rahul Bhattacharya, The Sly Company of People Who Care[12]
• 2011 Edmund de Waal, The Hare with Amber Eyes[13]
• 2010 Ian Thomson, The Dead Yard: Tales of Modern Jamaica[14]
• 2009 Adam Nicolson, Sissinghurst: an Unfinished History[15]
• 2008 Graham Robb, The Discovery of France[16]
• 2007 Hisham Matar, In the Country of Men[17]
• 2006 James Meek, The People's Act of Love[18]
• 2005 Rory Stewart, The Places In Between
• 2004 Louisa Waugh, Hearing Birds Fly

References

1. "RSL Ondaatje Prize". Royal Society of Literature. Retrieved 29 April 2017.
2. "Christopher Ondaatje homepage". Retrieved 16 January 2010.
3. Jury, Louise (6 April 2004). "Gulag book shortlisted for Ondaatje Prize". The Independent. London. Retrieved January 16, 2010.
4. "Roger Robinson's poems of Trinidad and London win Ondaatje prize". the Guardian. 2020-05-04. Retrieved 2020-05-05.
5. Flood, Alison (2019-05-13). "Ondaatje prize: Aida Edemariam wins for vivid biography of her grandmother". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-05-15.
6. Ondaatje prize goes to 'mythic' poems about a mother's mental illness. The Guardian. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
7. Kean, Danuta (8 May 2017). "Francis Spufford wins the Ondaatje prize with Golden Hill". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
8. Cain, Sian (23 May 2016). "'Anti-travelogue' on Putin's Russia wins £10,000 Ondaatje prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
9. Kerr, Michael (19 May 2015). "Justin Marozzi wins £10,000 RSL Ondaatje Prize". The Daily Telegraph.
10. Flood, Alison (20 May 2014). "Alan Johnson's memoir of London slum childhood wins £10,000 Ondaatje prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
11. Armitstead, Claire (14 May 2013). "Philip Hensher wins Ondaatje prize with novel on husband's childhood". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
12. Flood, Alison (29 May 2012). "2012 Ondaatje prize 2012 goes to debut novel by Rahul Bhattacharya". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 May 2012.
13. Flood, Allison (24 May 2011). "Ondaatje prize goes to Edmund de Waal". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 May 2011.
14. Flood, Alison (25 May 2010). "Ian Thomson wins £10,000 Ondaatje prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
15. Flood, Alison (19 May 2009). "'Powerfully evocative' family history wins Ondaatje prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
16. Dammann, Guy (29 April 2008). "£10,000 reward for The Discovery of France". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
17. Lea, Richard (3 May 2007). "Matar's tale of latterday Libya takes Ondaatje prize". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2014.
18. Pauli, Michelle (23 May 2006). "Guardian writer wins Ondaatje prize for Russian civil war novel". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2014.