The 13 long listed novels for the 2022 International Booker Prize longlist have been announced. They are works of fiction translated into English from 11 languages and originate from 12 countries across four continents – including Hindi for the first time.
This year’s longlist includes previous winners Olga Tokarczuk, Jennifer Croft, David Grossman and Jessica Cohen, alongside authors translated into English for the first time.
Independent presses with a mission for bringing the world’s fiction to English-speaking readers have dominated, with Tilted Axis – the publisher founded by Man Booker International Prize winner Deborah Smith – appearing on the list for the first time with three titles.
The shortlist of six will be announced on April 7, 2022 and the winners of the prize will be named on May 26, 2022.
The longlist include; Paradais, Heaven, Love in the Big City, Happy Stories, Mostly, Elena Knows, The Book of Mother, More Than I Love My Life, Phenotypes, A New Name: Septology VI-VII, After the Sun, Tomb of Sand, The Books of Jacob and Cursed Bunny.
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The organisers of the prize also announced the judges for the 2022 prize, which include: Merve Emre, Petina Gappah, Viv Groskop, Jeremy Tiang, Jeremy Tiang with Frank Wynne as the chair of the judges.
Speaking on the caliber of the judges, Fiammetta Rocco, administrator of the International Booker Prize, disclosed that, “The five judges, led by Frank Wynne, bring together a wealth of experience as world-class readers, writers, critics and translators. The discussions they will have about the books in contention for the 2022 International Booker Prize will be a masterclass of modern literary appreciation.”
On his part Frank Wynne, chair of the 2022 judges, assured of quality work and delivering on the job with the highest level of professionalism.
“Borges famously believed that paradise would be ‘a kind of library’, and spending the past year in the company of some of the world’s great writers and their equally gifted translators has been a kind of heaven. From the intimate to the epic, the numinous to the profane, the books make up a passionately debated longlist that trace a ring around the world. These 13 titles from 12 countries and 11 languages explore the breadth and depth of human experience, and are a testament to the power of language and literature”, Wynne said.
