2021 International Booker Prize longlist announced

lifestyle
2021 International Booker Prize Longlist Announced
The cover of Eric Vuillard's The War of the Poor
Share this article

By Keiran Southern, PA

Chinese author Can Xue has made the International Booker Prize longlist for a second time.

The 2021 list features 13 books translated from 11 languages and originating from 12 countries across four continents.

Advertisement

Xue is recognised for her novel I Live In The Slums, which was translated by Karen Gernant and Chen Zeping.

Nana Ekvtimishvili - The Pear Field
Nana Ekvtimishvili’s The Pear Field has been longlisted for the International Booker Prize. Photo: Peirene Press/PA

Xue was previously longlisted in 2019 and is the only writer of the 2021 crop to have made the list before.

Advertisement

Also included is Russian writer Maria Stepanova for In Memory Of Memory, which was translated by Sasha Dugdale.

Nana Ekvtimishvili, from Georgia, makes the longlist with her novel The Pear Field, which was translated by Elizabeth Heighway.

Eric Vuillard, from France, is recognised for The War Of The Poor, translated by Mark Polizzotti.

Palestinian author Adania Shibli is longlisted for Minor Detail which was translated by Elisabeth Jaquette.

Advertisement

Among the other authors recognised are writers from Spain, Denmark and Germany.

The £50,000 (€58,500) prize for the International Booker is divided equally between the author and the translator.

Maria Stepanova - In Memory of Memory
Russian writer Maria Stepanova makes the list with her novel In Memory Of Memory. Photo: Fitzcarraldo Editions/PA

Advertisement

The longlist was selected by the 2021 judging panel, which is chaired by novelist and cultural historian Lucy Hughes-Hallett.

She is joined on the panel by journalist Aida Edemariam, novelist Neel Mukherjee, academic Olivette Otele and poet George Szirtes.

Hughes-Hallett said of the longlisted books: “In a year when we could scarcely leave our own houses, we judges have been crossing continents, transported by our reading.

“Every book we’ve read is unique. However a theme does emerge – migration, the pain of it, but also the fruitful interconnectedness of the modern world.”

Advertisement

The shortlist for the prize will be announced on April 22nd and the winner will be revealed on June 2nd during a virtual event from Coventry, UK City of Culture 2021.

Read More

Message submitting... Thank you for waiting.

Want us to email you top stories each lunch time?

Download our Apps
© BreakingNews.ie 2024, developed by Square1 and powered by PublisherPlus.com