It's a big week in the literary calendar (if we do say so, ourselves), as we've just announced this year's International Booker Prize longlist. To mark the occasion, James is joined by Fiammetta Rocco, the administrator of the International Booker Prize, and Eleanor Wachtel, chair of the 2024 judging panel. Listen in as they discuss the prize, this year's longlisted books and why translated fiction matters.
Conversation topics in this episode:
Fiammetta shares how the International Booker Prize began, and how it works in tandem with the Booker Prize
The importance of translators
The surging popularity of translated fiction, especially amongst younger readers
What it's like to be a judge for the International Booker Prize
Common themes in contemporary literature across the world
The 2024 longlist
Reading list:
Not a River by Selva Almada, translated by Annie McDermott: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/not-a-river
Simpatía by Rodrigo Blanco Calderón, translated by Noel Hernández González and Daniel Hahn: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/simpatia
Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck, translated by Michael Hofmann: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/kairos
The Details by Ia Genberg, translated by Kira Josefsson: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-details
White Nights by Urszula Honek, translated by Kate Webster: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/white-nights
Mater 2-10 by Hwang Sok-yong, translated by Sora Kim-Russell and Youngjae Josephine Bae: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/mater-2-10
A Dictator Calls by Ismail Kadare, translated by John Hodgson: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/a-dictator-calls
The Silver Bone by Andrey Kurkov, translated by Boris Dralyuk: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-silver-bone
What I'd Rather Not Think About by Jente Posthuma, translated by Sarah Timmer Harvey: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/what-id-rather-not-think-about
Lost on Me by Veronica Raimo, translated by Leah Janeczko: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/lost-on-me
The House on Via Gemito by Domenico Starnone, translated by Oonagh Stransky: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-house-on-via-gemito
Crooked Plow by Itamar Vieira Junior, translated by Johnny Lorenz: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/crooked-plow
Undiscovered by Gabriela Wiener, translated by Julia Sanches: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/undiscovered
A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.
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