Why you should read the International Booker Prize

Here’s a music metaphor: if book prizes were musicians, the International Booker Prize would be Rosalía. The artist is known for her genre-fusing, avant-garde song writing, representing artistic freedom and innovation. She's contemporary, influential and fun.

The International Booker Prize is my favourite of all the literary prizes (and I love book awards season) because it highlights authors and translators and the brilliant (often indie) publishers who bring their work into the world. Reading the longlist feels like watching arthouse cinema (okay, now film metaphor) some books dreamy and contemplative, others abstract and experimental, bold and politically charged, or culturally rooted. If you prefer Mubi over Netflix, this is your reading list. 

The International Booker Prize was introduced in 2015, opening the door to writing from any language, if it was translated into English and published in the UK. In a literary world often dominated by English, this felt exciting and expansive, highlighting regional voices that might have been overlooked, and great for us, the reader, introducing us to a genuinely global range of stories. A fair criticism is that a book must already exist in English to qualify, which inevitably leaves some voices underrepresented. 

The largely independent presses who find and support translated writing, like Charco, who publish Latin American literature, or last year’s winner And Other Stories, as well as Fitzcarraldo, Lolli Editions, Tilted Axis and more do extraordinary work with real love and care (we’ll write more about them another time) for both author and translator. Although bigger publishers now seem more willing to invest in left‑field, less traditionally commercial translated fiction, much of the momentum and innovation comes from indie presses doing long‑term work, often supported by independent bookshops (like Bookbag) who help sustain this ecosystem. For an indie press, faced with rising costs and financial pressures (while arguably taking the biggest risks in the name of art) being listed can be a vital boost to sales and income.

The prize treats translation, rightly, as an art, splitting the prize money between author and translator. In a landscape where some publishers are experimenting with AI translation, this feels especially important. 

Previous winners include Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck and translated by Michael Hofmann, a devastating love affair unravelling in a collapsing political world; At Night All Blood Is Black by David Diop and translated by Anna Moschovakis, a descent into the psychological wreckage of war; and Flights by Olga Tokarczuk, translated by Jennifer Croft, a time‑spanning meditation on bodies and being in transit. On this year’s list, look for The Wax Child by Olga Ravn and translated by Michael Aitken, based on an infamous seventeenth‑century Danish witch trial and strange and wonderful; The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran by Shida Bazyar and translated by Ruth Martin, a multigenerational story of a family shaped by revolution and exile; and Women Without Men, by Shahrnush Parsipur and translated by Faridoun Farrokh which interweaves the destinies of five Iranian women, blending history and myth. 

And the final reason I love the prize, its brand marketing. Actors like Ambika Mod, Paterson Joseph, Dua Lipa and Jamie Demetriou read passages from the books - like  beautifully shot short films. Chef's kiss.

By Charlie

Read the full list, and please buy from Bookbag! We’ll be adding the full longlist to our web shop over the next few days. Let us know which titles you’ve loved or are looking forward to reading – we'll have a bundle offer when the shortlist is announced.