Today, 11 March, the 2024 longlist for the International Booker Prize, the world’s most significant award for a single work of translated fiction, is announced.
Featuring “books that speak of courage and kindness, of the vital importance of community, and of the effects of standing up to tyranny’” according to Fiammetta Rocco, Administrator of the International Booker Prize, the list introduces readers to the best novels and short story collections from around the world that have been translated into English and published in the UK and/or Ireland.
The longlist
- Not a River by Selva Almada, translated from Spanish by Annie McDermott
- Simpatía by Rodrigo Blanco Calderón, translated from Spanish by Noel Hernández González and Daniel Hahn
- Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck, translated from German by Michael Hofmann
- The Details by Ia Genberg, translated from Swedish by Kira Josefsson
- White Nights by Urszula Honek, translated from Polish by Kate Webster
- Mater 2-10 by Hwang Sok-yong, translated from Korean by Sora Kim-Russell and Youngjae Josephine Bae
- A Dictator Calls by Ismail Kadare, translated from Albanian by John Hodgson
- The Silver Bone: The Kyiv Mysteries by Andrey Kurkov, translated from Russian by Boris Dralyuk
- What I’d Rather Not Think About by Jente Posthuma, translated from Dutch by Sarah Timmer Harvey
- Lost on Me by Veronica Raimo, translated from Italian by Leah Janeczko
- The House on Via Gemito by Domenico Starnone, translated from Italian by Oonagh Stransky
- Crooked Plow by Itamar Vieira Junior, translated from Portuguese by Johnny Lorenz
- Undiscovered by Gabriela Wiener, translated from Spanish by Julia Sanches
The 2024 longlist features books translated from ten original languages: Albanian, Dutch, German, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Swedish including four books written by South American authors, with books representing Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Venezuela. While some authors and their books might be unfamiliar to English-speaking readers, many are considered to be their respective countries’ greatest living writers
A variety of fictional forms are represented on this year’s longlist: from magical realism to autofiction, from allegory to short stories, from books that span multiple generations to one constructed around a three-minute conversation. Several titles are rooted in family life, from the relationship between fathers and sons to daughters and mothers, from separated twins to orphanhood.
The judges
The 13 books on the longlist have been chosen by the 2024 judging panel: broadcaster and journalist Eleanor Wachtel as chair; award-winning poet Natalie Diaz; Booker Prize-shortlisted novelist Romesh Gunesekera; groundbreaking visual artist William Kentridge; and writer, editor and translator Aaron Robertson.
Eleanor Wachtel, International Booker Prize 2024 Chair of judges, says:
From a protest on the top of a factory chimney in South Korea to a transformative fishing trip in remote Argentina, from the violent streets of Kyiv in 1919 to a devastating sexual relationship in 1980s East Berlin, our longlisted books offer stunning evocations of place and time. Here are voices that reflect original angles of observation. In compelling, at times lyrical modes of expression, they tell stories that give us insight into – among other things – the ways political power drives our lives.
What my fellow jurors and I hoped to find are books that, together, we could recommend to English-speaking readers. After narrowing down 149 submitted titles to these 13, we are delighted to say, “Here, we’ve scoured the world and brought back these gifts.
The six books shortlisted for this year’s prize will be announced on Tuesday, 9 April, 2024. The announcement of the winning book for 2024 will take place at a ceremony in London on Tuesday, 21 May, 2024, which will be livestreamed.
The prize recognises the vital work of translators with the £50,000 prize money divided equally: £25,000 for the author and £25,000 for the translator (or divided equally between multiple translators). In addition, there is a prize of £5,000 for each of the shortlisted titles: £2,500 for the author and £2,500 for the translator (or divided equally between multiple translators).
For more information, visit the Booker Prizes website.
The International Booker Prize 2024 Reading Challenge
This year to coincide with the longlist, the prize is launching a new Reading Challenge to encourage readers to explore the 2024 longlist, share their thoughts, and connect with readers from around the world.
The prize is looking for three librarians from the UK and Ireland who are passionate about translated fiction to become Reading Challenge Ambassadors to read as many longlisted titles as they can ahead of the winner announcement on 21 May. The Ambassadors will be featured on the Booker Prizes and The Reading Agency’s channels, and have the chance to win tickets to the International Booker Prize 2024 ceremony.
Find out more and apply today.
Librarians can also pick up a free POS pack to celebrate the Reading Challenge in their libraries from our shop.
Get involved
If you work in a library or workplace and would like to promote the longlist, you can download a free digital pack from our shop.
What do you think of the 2024 longlisted titles? Which have you read and what will be added to your TBR pile? Add your comments below, or click any title above to leave a review.
Share your thoughts with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram using #InternationalBooker2024.
Keep up with all the latest news on the Booker Prizes website.
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