Tilted Axis makes International Booker longlist debut as Tokarczuk and Grossman nominated

The longlist for the 2022 International Booker Prize has been revealed with publisher Tilted Axis, founded by former winner Deborah Smith, appearing for the first time with three titles. 

The 13 longlisted works on the list are translated from 11 languages and originate from 12 countries across four continents, including the debut nomination for a Hindi title.  

This year’s list includes previous winners Olga Tokarczuk, Jennifer Croft, David Grossman and Jessica Cohen, alongside authors translated into English for the first time. 

Tilted Axis secured three nominations for Love in the Big City by Sang Young Park, translated from Korean by Anton Hur, Happy Stories, Mostly by Norman Erikson Pasaribu, translated from Indonesian by Tiffany Tsao, and Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree, translated from Hindi by Daisy Rockwell. 

Fitzcarraldo Editions also garnered three nominations for A New Name: Septology VI-VII by Jon Fosse, translated from Norwegian by Damion Searls, Paradais by Fernanda Melchor, translated from Spanish by Sophie Hughes, and The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk, translated from Polish by Jennifer Croft. 

The list is dominated by indies, including Honford Star for Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung, translated from Korean by Anton Hur, as well as Lolli Editions for After The Sun by Jonas Eika, translated from the Danish by Sherilyn Nicolette Hellberg. 

Charco Press also makes an appearance with Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro, translated from Spanish by Frances Riddle, while And Other Stories makes the longlist with Phenotypes by Paulo Scott, translated from Portuguese by Daniel Hahn. 

Showings from the larger publishers include More Than I Love My Life by David Grossman, translated from Hebrew by Jessica Cohen for Jonathan Cape, The Book of Mother by Violaine Huisman, translated from French by Leslie Camhi for Virago, and Heaven by Mieko Kawakami, translated from Japanese by Samuel Bett and David Boyd for Picador.  

The longlist was selected from across 135 books by the 2022 judging panel consisting of translator Frank Wynne, author and academic Merve Emre, writer and lawyer Petina Gappah, writer, comedian and presenter Viv Groskop, and translator and author Jeremy Tiang. 

Wynne, the first translator to chair the panel, said: “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 10 languages explore the breadth and depth of human experience, and are a testament to the power of language and literature.” 

The shortlist for the prize will be announced on 7th April at the London Book Fair and the winner on 26th May at a ceremony at One Marylebone, London. 

The award complements The Booker Prize for Fiction, and is awarded every year for a single book that is translated into English and published in the UK or Ireland. It aims to encourage more publishing and reading of quality works of imagination from all over the world, and to give greater recognition to the role of translators. Novels and short story collections are eligible.  

The contribution of author and translator is given equal recognition, with the £50,000 prize split evenly between them. In addition, for the first time in 2022, the shortlisted authors and translators will each receive £2,500, increased from £1,000 in previous years — bringing the total value of the prize to £80,000.