DUBLIN: Turkish author Orhan Pamuk won one of the world’s richest literary prizes on Monday, the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.

Mr Pamuk, whose work has been translated into 20 languages, won for My Name is Red, a murder-mystery novel set among 16th century Ottoman miniaturist painters who are forced to embrace Western art at a time of violent fundamentalism.

He will receive 75,000 euros (88,000 dollars) of the 100,000 euro (118,000 dollars) prize money, the world’s most lucrative literary prize for a single work of fiction published in English, with the rest going to his translator.

After beating off opposition from the likes of US writer Jonathan Franzen whose The Corrections also made the eight-strong shortlist, Pamuk will be honoured at a presentation ceremony in Dublin on June 14.

Since the Sept 11 attacks in US cities, Turkey’s best-selling author has been in demand for his thoughts on religious extremism. He says it is not Islam or poverty that feeds attacks such as those in Saudi Arabia last week or Morocco at the weekend, which left dozens dead and wounded, but a failure to be heard.—Reuters