The Judges for the International Booker Prize 2023 have been announced.

This year’s panel of judges is chaired by Leïla Slimani, the prize winning French-Moroccan novelist. Also included on this year’s panel is one of the leading literary translators from Ukrainian in Britain, Uilleam Blacker; Tan Twan Eng, the Malaysian novelist whose novel The Garden of Evening Mists was a Booker-shortlist; critic at the New Yorker and Staff Writer Parul Sehgal; and Literary Editor of the Financial Times Fredrick Studemann. The 2023 panel of judges are going to be looking for the best work of translated fiction from entries that have been published in either the UK or Ireland between the 1st May 2022 and the 30th April 2023. 

Leïla Slimani, this year’s Chair of the International Booker Prize judges, comments:

‘As a child, I lived in books. Through the magic of fiction, I was a Russian princess, a gold digger, a little orphan from the suburbs of London, an alchemist from the Colombian mountains. This is what novelists teach us and what translators offer us: in literature there are no borders, no illegals, no outcasts. Fiction is my home and I am more than happy to be able to live there for several months, surrounded by friends and colleagues, to celebrate our passion for words and stories. It is a great honour and responsibility to present this prestigious award to a novelist and to his or her translator whose talents have enabled them to be read by English-speaking readers.’

The International Booker Prize seeks to showcase fiction from all five continents that have been translated into English. The prize grows in importance every year, with the 2022 International Book Prize winner Tomb of Sand by Geetanjali Shree and translated by Daisy Rockwell seeing a 887% sales increase week on week in volume following the announcement. The winner’s prize is £50,000 of which £25,000 goes to the author and the remaining £25,000 goes to the translator or is equally divided between multiple translators. 

Fiammetta Rocco, Administrator of the International Booker Prize, adds:

‘Led by Leïla Slimani, the five judges of the International Booker Prize 2023 bring a wealth of talent and global experience as writers, critics, translators – and most of all as readers. At the end of the prize cycle, in May 2023, their reading and discussions will give them an unparalleled view of the new fiction from around the world, written in other languages that has been translated into English and published in UK and Ireland. Their recommendations should leap to the top of your must-read list.’

The International Booker Prize is now open for submissions, with no restrictions on the number of submissions per publisher. Judges may also ‘call in’ any work that has been published within the required timeframe even if the book hasn’t been submitted or nominated for a call in by the publisher. The judges will read the submissions and are responsible for compiling a longlist of 12 or 13 books, due to be announced in March 2023. A shortlist of 6 books will then be selected by the judges, which will be revealed in April, and the winning title will be announced at a ceremony in May.

Click here to find out more about the Interantional Booker Prize.

To find out more about entering the International Booker Prize 2023, click here.