The International Booker Prize has unveiled its 2024 shortlist, showcasing an selection of novels that promise to widen the horizons of readers everywhere. Eleanor Wachtel, chair of the judging panel, said the essence of this year’s selection was “optimism.”

Wachtel, renowned for her contributions to literature, further elaborated on the significance of reading and the global reach of the shortlisted novels: “Reading is a necessary enlargement of human experience… Novels carry us to places where we might never set foot and connect us with new sensations and memories. Our shortlist opens onto vast geographies of the mind, often showing lives lived against the backdrop of history or, more precisely, interweaving the intimate and the political in radically original ways.”

The 2024 shortlist is notable for its diversity, featuring authors and translators from six languages, six countries, and three continents, encompassing Dutch, German, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish. International Booker Prize Administrator Fiammetta Rocco highlighted the thematic depth of the books: “The books cast a forensic eye on divided families and divided societies, revisiting pasts both recent and distant to help make sense of the present.”

Read: International Booker Prize 2024 longlist: Latin American fiction dominates

Among the shortlisted are nine women and four men and the selection includes authors with a strong pedigree in the International Booker Prize circle, including South Korea’s Hwang Sok-yong, shortlisted for his ninth book, and Itamar Viera Junior, a newcomer with his debut novel.

Independent publishers play a crucial role in this year’s lineup, with five of the six books coming from indie presses. This continues a trend of independent publishers being recognized for their contributions to bringing diverse and innovative voices to the forefront of literature.

The prize not only celebrates the best in translated fiction but also the importance of the translators’ work, splitting the £50,000 prize money equally between the author and translator(s).

International Booker Prize 2024 shortlist:

Here are the books that have made the prestigious shortlist, each offering a unique lens on the world:

• “Not a River” by Selva Almada, translated from Spanish by Annie McDermott. A novel that begins as a simple fishing trip in Argentina but evolves into a profound exploration of trauma and memory.
• “Kairos” by Jenny Erpenbeck, translated from German by Michael Hofmann. Set in East Germany, this novel looks into a tormented love affair, illustrating how history shapes our lives.
• “The Details” by la Genberg, translated from Swedish by Kira Josefsson. A meditation on friendship and loss, this Swedish novel captures the transient nature of human connections.
• “Mater 2-10” by Hwang Sok-yong, translated from Korean by Sora Kim-Russell and Youngjae Josephine Bae. A story of Korean resilience, celebrating the culture’s survival through its darkest and most hopeful times.
• “What I’d Rather Not Think About” by Jente Posthuma, translated from Dutch by Sarah Timmer Harvey. A poignant look at the lives of Dutch twins, exploring identity, loss, and the unspoken ties that bind us.
• “Crooked Plow” by Itamar Vieira Junior, translated from Portuguese by Johnny Lorenz. An intimate portrayal of rural Brazil, highlighting the importance of history and land rights through the lens of quilombo communities.

The International Booker Prize ceremony is set to take place in the Turbine Hall at London’s Tate Modern on Tuesday, 21 May 2024, with live-streaming available for global audiences.

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