Asian Prize Changes Seem Puzzling, But Perhaps For the Better

Editorial by Miguel Syjuco, Winner of the 2008 Man Asian Literary Prize
- Publishing Perpectives

MONTREAL: When news arrived this week that the Man Asian Literary Prize would no longer be accepting unpublished manuscripts, and instead only published novels, dismay broke out among writers. On blogs, newsgroups, email, and networking sites, the communal shock developed into debate. On one side, the door through which Asian writers could try to reach Western readers seemed suddenly shut and the MALP, as it is sometimes known, stood to lose the very thing that made it special.

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