The Man Booker International Prize
has revealed the ‘Man Booker Dozen’ of 13 novels in
contention for the 2017 prize, which celebrates
the finest works of translated fiction from around the world.
The prize is awarded every year for a single book, which is
translated into English and published in the UK. Both novels and short-story
collections are eligible. The work of translators is equally rewarded, with the
GBP 50,000 prize divided between the author and the translator of the winning
entry. In addition, each shortlisted author and translator will receive GPB 1,000
each. The judges considered 126 books.
The full 2017 longlist is as follows:
Author
(nationality) Translator
Title
Mathias
Enard
Charlotte
Mandell Compass
(France)
Wioletta
Greg
Eliza
Marciniak Swallowing
Mercury
(Poland)
David
Grossman
Jessica
Cohen A
Horse Walks Into a Bar
(Israel)
Stefan Hertmans
David
McKay War
and Turpentine
(Belgium)
Roy
Jacobsen
Don
Bartlett The
Unseen
(Norway)
Don Shaw
Ismail
Kadare
John
Hodgson The
Traitor's Niche
(Albania)
Jon Kalman Stefansson Phil
Roughton Fish
Have No Feet
(Iceland)
Yan
Lianke
Carlos Rojas The
Explosion Chronicles
(China)
Alain
Mabanckou
Helen
Stevenson Black
Moses
(France)
Clemens
Meyer
Katy
Derbyshire Bricks
and Mortar
(Germany)
Dorthe
Nors
Misha Hoekstra Mirror,
Shoulder, Signal
(Denmark)
Amos
Oz
Nicholas de Lange Judas
(Israel)
Samanta
Schweblin
Megan
McDowell Fever
Dream
(Argentina)
The longlist was selected by a panel of five judges, chaired by
Nick Barley, Director of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, and
consisting of: Daniel Hahn, an award-winning writer, editor and translator;
Elif Shafak, a prize-winning novelist and one of the most widely read writers
in Turkey; Chika Unigwe, author of four novels including On Black
Sisters’ Street; and Helen Mort, a poet who has been shortlisted for many
poetry prizes in the UK.
Nick Barley said, “It’s been an
exceptionally strong year for translated fiction. Our longlist consists of
books that are compulsively readable and ferociously intelligent. From powerful
depictions and shocking exposés of historical and contemporary horrors to
intimate and compelling portraits of people going about their daily lives, our
longlisted books are above all breathtakingly well-written. Fiction in
translation is flourishing: in these times when walls are being built, this
explosion of brilliant ideas from around the world arriving into the English
language feels more important than ever.”
The shortlist of six books will be
announced on 20 April and the winner of the 2017 prize will be announced on 14
June at a formal dinner in London.
