International Booker Prize Longlist

In the past decade, the Booker Prize has adopted a new category for books written in foreign languages. Other than a few expected racist grumbles, some writers get a big boost from the publicity that comes with a Booker. The longlist this year is:

Not a River by Selva Almada, translated by Annie McDermott

Simpatía by Rodrigo Blanco Calderón, translated by Noel Hernández González and Daniel Hahn

Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck, translated by Michael Hofmann

The Details by Ia Genberg, translated by Kira Josefsson

White Nights by Urszula Honek, translated by Kate Webster

Mater 2-10 by Hwang Sok-yong, translated by Sora Kim-Russell and Youngjae Josephine Bae

A Dictator Calls by Ismail Kadare, translated by John Hodgson

The Silver Bone by Andrey Kurkov, translated by Boris Dralyuk

What I’d Rather Not Think About by Jente Posthuma, translated by Sarah Timmer Harvey

Lost on Me by Veronica Raimo, translated by Leah Janeczko

The House on Via Gemito by Domenico Starnone, translated by Oonagh Stransky

Crooked Plow by Itamar Vieira Junior, translated by Johnny Lorenz

Undiscovered by Gabriela Wiener, translated by Julia Sanches

Shortlist will come (9 Apr).

Winners will be announced on 21 May.

Sentiment may be in Andrey Kurkov's favour this year. He's Ukrainian, and the book is one of those sweeping historical sagas that prize committees adore. But don't rule out perennial Booker fave, Ismael Kadare or House on Via Gemito.

Note the Booker Prize prizes are shared between authors and translators. Shortlist teams receive £5000, and the winning author and translator will split £50,000. I do have some reservations about this setup. I realize good translating skills can make or break a book in a foreign language, but I'm not sure the skill set equals the creation of an entire work.