Media. News and press releases from across Man Group.

12 March 2019

• The 13 longlisted books have been translated from nine different languages, hailing from 12 countries across three continents
• Olga Tokarczuk, who won the prize in 2018, appears again alongside her other translator into English, Antonia Lloyd-Jones
• Samanta Schweblin and her translator Megan McDowell, previously shortlisted in 2017, are longlisted
• The list includes 8 women - over half of this year’s longlist
• Longlist dominated by independent publishers: only two from the larger conglomerates

The Man Booker International Prize has today, Wednesday 13 March, revealed the ‘Man Booker Dozen’ of 13 novels in contention for the 2019 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. Authors and translators are considered to be equally important, with the £50,000 prize being split between them. In addition, each shortlisted author and translator will receive £1,000. The judges considered 108 books.

The 2019 longlist is as follows:

The longlist was selected by a panel of five judges, chaired by Bettany Hughes, award-winning historian, author and broadcaster, and is made up of writer, translator and chair of English PEN Maureen Freely; philosopher Professor Angie Hobbs; novelist and satirist Elnathan John and essayist and novelist Pankaj Mishra.

Bettany Hughes, chair of the 2019 Man Booker International Prize judging panel, says:

‘This was a year when writers plundered the archive, personal and political. That drive is represented in our longlist, but so too are surreal Chinese train journeys, absurdist approaches to war and suicide, and the traumas of spirit and flesh. We’re thrilled to share 13 books which enrich our idea of what fiction can do.’ The shortlist of six books will be announced on 9 April at an event at Somerset House in London, and the winner of the 2019 prize will be announced on 21 May at a dinner at the Roundhouse in London.

The Man Booker International Prize was originally established thanks to the generous extension of funding given by the Man Group. The 2019 prize marks the final highlight of their successful 18-year sponsorship of the prizes. The Trustees of the Booker Prize Foundation announced on 28 February that Crankstart, the charitable foundation of Michael Moritz KBE and his wife, Harriet Heyman, will be the new supporter of the Booker Prize and the International Booker Prize from 1 June 2019. Crankstart has committed to an initial five-year exclusive funding term with an option to renew for a further five years. From June the original prize will once again be known as The Booker Prize, while the prize for literature in translation will become The International Booker Prize.

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