The 2024 longlist for the world-renowned International Booker Prize has been disclosed, featuring 13 carefully selected works competing for the prestigious recognition in translated fiction. Fiammetta Rocco, the administrator of the International Booker Prize, suggested that the judges’ preferences were for “literature exhibiting bravery and compassion, demonstrating the crucial role of community, and illustrating the repercussions of defiantly combating despotism”.
Interestingly, the first-ever recipient of the reward in 2005, Ismail Kadare, has landed himself a spot on the longlist with his novel – ‘A Dictator Calls’. The list includes nine debutante authors and translators. Another key highlight of the list indicates that a significant portion, specifically a fourth of the longlist entries are penned by authors from South America, with representation from Brazil, Argentina, Peru, and Venezuela.
The longlisted entries have been painstakingly translated from ten distinctive languages, spanning from Albanian and Dutch to Russian and Swedish. In terms of age diversity, the span between the youngest and oldest longlisted authors is over half a century, and one of the featured books was originally published more than two decades ago.
The International Booker Prize serves to expose readers to the finest narrative and short-story collections worldwide that have been translated into English and published in the UK and/or the Republic. It also values the enormous efforts of translators, with the prize sum of £50,000 equitably allocated between the author and the translator. Similarly, each shortlisted title deserves a reward of £5,000 for the author and the translator.
The 2024 longlist was meticulously picked by a judging panel, chaired by journalist Eleanor Wachtel, and encompassing award-winning poet Natalie Diaz, internationally reputable novelist Romesh Gunesekera, innovative visual artist William Kentridge, and writer, editor, and translator, Aaron Robertson.
The assortment was curated from an impressive 149 books, published between May 1st, 2023, and April 30th, 2024, proposed by publishers. This number marks the highest submission rate since the prize’s modern-day commencement in 2016. This year witnessed an increase in the linguistic diversity of the entries, with books originally written in 32 languages, an escalation from 27 in the preceding year 2023.
Ms Wachtel has always perceived fiction as a portal into alternative realities and mindsets. Through her numerous encounters with international writers, she has become increasingly amazed by the capacity of language translators to broaden these fictional universes, deepen understanding of distinctive cultures and create a worldwide fraternity of readers unfettered by geographical constraints.
This unique enthusiasm has been at the center of conversations amongst her co-panelists since the previous summer. The novelty of discovering a book interpreted from an unique angle and delivered in an eloquent manner is an invigorating experience. As specified by William Kentridge, they aim to be ‘active participants in the interpretation of a book’s meaning.’
This year’s longlist for the International Booker Prize showcases a spectrum of fictional genres, including magical realism, autofiction, allegory, short stories, multi-generational narratives and even a book designed around a trio of minutes in a conversation.
On Tuesday, April 9th, the half dozen books to be shortlisted for this year’s accolade will be unveiled. The ultimate winner will be disclosed on May 21st, Tuesday.
Below is the International Booker Prize 2024 longlist in full:
– Selva Almada’s ‘Not a River’, Annie McDermott translation
– ‘Simpatía’ by Rodrigo Blanco Calderón, translated by Noel Hernández González and Daniel Hahn
– Jenny Erpenbeck’s ‘Kairos’, translation by Michael Hofmann
– ‘The Details’ by Ia Genberg, with Kira Josefsson as the translator
– Urszula Honek’s ‘White Nights’, Kate Webster translation
– ‘Mater 2-10’ by Hwang Sok-yong, translated by Sora Kim-Russell and Youngjae Josephine Bae
– Ismail Kadare’s ‘A Dictator Calls’, translation by John Hodgson
– Andrey Kurkov’s ‘The Silver Bone’, Boris Dralyuk translation
– ‘What I’d Rather Not Think About’ by Jente Posthuma, translation by Sarah Timmer Harvey
– Veronica Raimo’s ‘Lost on Me’, translated by Leah Janeczko
– ‘The House on Via Gemito’ by Domenico Starnone, translated by Oonagh Stransky
– Itamar Vieira Junior’s ‘Crooked Plow’, Johnny Lorenz translation
– ‘Undiscovered’ by Gabriela Wiener, translated by Julia Sanches