International Booker Prize

Recently, Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck, translated by Michael Hofmann, won the International Booker Prize 2024.

1. Jenny Erpenbeck becomes the first German writer to win the International Booker Prize, for her intimate portrait of a toxic love affair, set against the last days of East Germany

About International Booker Prize:

1. Annual Recognition: The International Booker Prize is a distinctive literary honor that is awarded each year to an outstanding work of fiction from anywhere in the world that has been skillfully translated into English.

2. Evolution of the Prize: This prestigious prize began its journey in 2005 as the Man Booker International Prize.

3. Initial Format:

   1. It was initially a biennial prize for a body of work, and there was no stipulation that the work should be written in a language other than English.
   2. Early winners of the Man Booker International Prize therefore include Alice Munro, Lydia Davis and Philip Roth, as well as Ismail Kadare and Laszlo Krasznahorkai. 
   3. In 2015, after the rules of the original Booker Prize expanded to allow writers of any nationality to enter - as long as their books were written in English and published in the UK - the International Prize evolved to become the mirror image of the English-language prize.
   4. Since then it has been awarded annually for a single book, written in another language and translated into English.
   5. The Man Group continued to sponsor both prizes until 2019, when Crankstart became the funder, and the prize names reverted to the familiar ‘Booker’ name alone.

4. Encouraging Global Reading: A fundamental goal of the International Booker Prize is to promote a wider appreciation and readership of high-quality fiction from all corners of the world.

5. Eligibility Criteria: To be eligible for consideration, a work must be a long-form fiction originally written in English by an author of any nationality and published in either the United Kingdom or Ireland.

6. Prize Money and Recognition:

   1. Equal Distribution: The International Booker Prize celebrates the contributions of translators by dividing the substantial £50,000 prize money equally between the author and the translator.

   2. Additional Recognition: Shortlisted authors and translators are also honored, with each receiving £2,500.

What is Fictional Literature?

1. Fictional literature includes works of imagination rather than presenting factual accounts.
2. While fictional literature may be inspired by true stories or situations, it is not bound by the constraints of reality.
3. Novels, short stories, and novellas are common types of fictional literature.

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