Woman wins Man Asian Literary Prize for the first time

South Korean author Kyung-sook Shin won the $30,000 dollar award for her novel Please Look After Mom

The book was the first novel by a South Korean writer to be shortlisted in the prize's five-year history. Kyung-sook was awarded the prize at an event in Hong Kong last night (15 March).

Chair of judges Razia Iqbal said: 'Please Look After Mom is an incredibly moving portrait of what it means to be a mother, but also of the tradition and modernity of the family in South Korea. The novel is a sensitive exploration of the inner life of the family with a very dynamic narrative structure. The story is surprising in its complexity yet has a beating heart at the centre of it.'

With many literary awards to her name, Kyung-sook is one of South Korea's most widely-read novelists, but Please Look After Mom is her first book to be published in English. Following being shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize, it is now set to be published in 32 countries.

Website: www.manasianliteraryprize.org