Scottish author Ali Smith has been announced as winner of the 2026 Dublin Literary Award for her novel Gliff.
The award, sponsored by Dublin City Council, was announced during the International Literature Festival in Dublin.
Ms Smith said: "I couldn't be more amazed and delighted that my novel has come to the surface and won the Dublin Literary Award."
The award, now in its 31st year, has a prize of €100,000, which makes it the world's most valuable annual prize for a single work of fiction published in English.
It receives its nominations from public libraries around the world and recognises both writers and translators.
Nominated by Katona József Library in Hungary, the winning novel was chosen from a shortlist of six novels by writers from Canada, France, the UK and the US.
The book is about two homeless children who befriend a horse and follows the young siblings as they try to survive a bewildering new world, with a hum of destruction in the background.
The longlist of 69 titles was nominated by 80 libraries from 36 countries.
Chair of the voting panel, Professor Chris Morash of Trinity College Dublin, described Gliff as a dystopian novel, with a recognisable world but things have gone wrong in strange yet believable ways.
"It's a novel that makes us really think about our future and where we are going, and the kind of decisions we make, and yet it’s also a story told through the eyes of a child and it’s a novel that features a horse... and how bonding with an animal can give you ways to find meaning in a world that seems to be losing it."
He said that Dublin City Council’s sponsorship of the award was "transformative for the literary community all around the world."
Lord Mayor of Dublin Councillor Ray McAdam said: "Gliff is a remarkable and deeply powerful work from author Ali Smith.
"Through the eyes of two young protagonists navigating an increasingly authoritarian society, we are reminded that courage is not always loud, but it is always consequential.
"Their resilience, their humanity, and their refusal to surrender hope speak to something timeless within us all.
"At a moment when democracy across the world can too often feel fragile, this novel is a powerful reminder that freedom, dignity and democratic values should never be taken for granted."
Dublin City Council CEO Richard Shakespeare said: "Ali Smith has strong ties with Ireland, and I am delighted that she has won the 2026 Dublin Literary Award.
"It's heartening that a Hungarian library nominated the winning title, showing how great literature can strike a universal chord".
