International Booker Prize 2024 longlist: Latin American fiction dominates

The 2024 longlist for the International Booker Prize, the world’s most significant award for a single work of translated fiction, has been announced with a number of authors hailing from Central and South America.

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A quarter of the list is written by South American authors, with books representing Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Venezuela. The authors and their words are considered to be the greatest living writers in their respective countries.

International Booker Prize administrator Fiammetta Rocco said: “The list highlights the growing pool of talented South American writers, signalling a second ‘boom’ in Latin American fiction. When asked last year why Ireland has the best writers, after four Irish authors appeared on the Booker Prize longlist for 2023, the eventual winner Paul Lynch said: “Can I let you into a secret? I think South America has the best writers.'”

A number of the books highlight the struggles of individuals and minorities in the face of oppression. History weighs heavily on characters, whether as a result of the hangover of communism in eastern Europe, the legacy of slavery and land theft in Brazil, or the stultifying effect of military dictatorship in Korea.

International Booker Prize 2024 longlist:

• “Not a River” by Argentinian author Selva Almada, translated into English by British translator Annie McDermott, and published by Charco Press.
• “Simpatía” by Venezuelan author Rodrigo Blanco Calderón, translated by Noel Hernández González and Daniel Hahn, who are Spanish and British respectively, and it is published by Seven Stories Press UK.
• “Kairos” by German author Jenny Erpenbeck, translated by Michael Hofmann, also German, and offered by Granta Books.
• “The Details” by Ia Genberg, a Swedish author, with translation by Kira Josefsson, and it is available through Wildfire Books.
• “White Nights” by Urszula Honek, translated from Polish to English by British translator Kate Webster, and published by MTO Press.
• “Mater 2-10” by Hwang Sok-yong, includes translations by Sora Kim-Russell and Youngjae Josephine Bae (Korean/American), and is published by Scribe Publications UK.
• “A Dictator Calls” by Ismail Kadare, translated from Albanian into English by British translator John Hodgson, and published by Harvill Secker.
• “The Silver Bone: The Kyiv Mysteries” by Ukrainian author Andrey Kurkov, translated by Boris Dralyuk (Ukrainian/American), and published by MacLehose Press.
• “What I’d Rather Not Think About” by Jente Posthuma, translated from Dutch into English by Australian Sarah Timmer Harvey, and published by Scribe Publications UK.
• “Lost on Me” by Veronica Raimo, translated by American Leah Janeczko from Italian, and it’s available from Virago.
• “The House on Via Gemito” by Domenico Starnone, translated by Oonagh Stransky (American/Italian), and is published by Europa Editions.
• “Crooked Plow” by Brazilian author Itamar Vieira Junior, translated by American Johnny Lorenz, and published by Verso Fiction.
• “Undiscovered” by Peruvian Gabriela Wiener, translated by Brazilian Julia Sanches, and published by Pushkin.

Judges: ‘how political power drives our lives’

The 13 books on the longlist have been chosen by the 2024 judging panel, which includes journalist Eleanor Wachtel as chair, award-winning poet Natalie Diaz, internationally acclaimed novelist Romesh Gunesekera, groundbreaking visual artist William Kentridge, and writer, editor and translator Aaron Robertson.

The judges’ selection features “books that speak of courage and kindness, of the vital importance of community, and of the effects of standing up to tyranny”, according to Rocco.

While Eleanor Wachtel, International Booker Prize 2024 chair of judges, added: “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.”

The International Booker Prize 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 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).

The winning author and translator will be announced at Foyles Charing Cross Road, London, on May 23rd.