Rathbones Folio Prize

The winner of the Rathbones Folio Prize 2018 is Richard Lloyd Parry. The award-winning foreign correspondent and Asia Editor of The Times received £20,000 prize ($26,955 US Dollars) — awarded to the best work of literature of the year in any form — for Ghosts of the Tsunami, a work of literary non-fiction examining the communities that lived through the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

From the judges, Jim Crace, Nikesh Shukla and Kate Summerscale: “From a shortlist of eight powerful, moving, important books, we have selected Ghosts of the Tsunami by Richard Lloyd Parry as our winner. It is a piece of heightened reportage about the 2011 Japanese earthquake and its devastating aftermaths, rendered as great literature. It is both harrowing and inspiring. Here is a book which not only interprets for a non-Japanese reader the subtleties and complexities of that nation’s life, especially its family life and how it copes with grief, but also has the depth and reach to close the gaps between other nations, other cultures. Read it and you will be changed for the better.”

From Philip Howell, CEO of Rathbones: “Our heartfelt congratulations go to Richard Lloyd Parry for winning the Rathbones Folio Prize 2018. Being cross-genre, this prize highlights the diversity of great writing and for Richard Lloyd Parry to be elevated above such a strong shortlist is an impressive feat. Colleagues at Rathbones, clients and friends have all greatly enjoyed exploring the shortlist proving the power of the written word to engage, challenge and connect. We look forward to our continued collaboration with the Folio Academy Foundation in support of the Rathbones Folio Prize and our other programmes, such as Rathbones Folio Mentorships for young writers and Rathbones BookBubble digital reading programme.”