onsdag den 8. februar 2006
SKS's framtid - The glass key
I think we have to change the statutes in order to clarify once and for all what kind of manuscripts/works of fiction we accept. Also, it is important, I think, to ensure that in the final round, the juries will choose between two books and two books only. If this means an extra round of voting every once in a while, then so be it. And even if no book is nominated from this country or that, each national society should commit itself to participate in the vote. This year, as I said, we will probably not be in the running, but none the less we certainly want to have our say about the other books nominated for the Glass key.
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Generally I agree to Ævar Örn's suggestions. But in the case of the Glass Key, I feel that our President is speaking with two tongues.
Keeping the current statute, mentioning 'bästa skandinaviska kriminallitteräre verk', and simply presuming that this is a 'book', won't do, if there's a point in limiting the literary formats. A 'literary work' might still be anything from poem to screenplay, and even a novel won't necessarily be published as a 'book' (for instance, Dashiell Hammett's The Glass Key wasn't). And, for that sake, the Icelandic and Finnish candidates the last years have not been 'books' in the strictest sense either; they've been print-outs of the translated manuscripts.
So: The statute that covers the Glass Key definitely has to be changed, if we want to avoid problems like those of last year. If 'we' really want to stress the 'book' part of this (which I find to be a grave expression of contempt for the history of crime literature!), care must be taken to avoid wordings that unintentionally disqualify texts that needs translation.
My suggestion: Keep the 'work' part, but replace the 'book' part with 'published' (leaving the field open for historically important genres like serials, short stories and stage/film/TV/radio plays).
A literary award that could not have been given to the story (in this case: magazine serial) it's been named after, will always be a little dubious...
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