The Booker Prize Podcast

Earlier this week, author Jenny Erpenbeck and translator Michael Hofmann were announced as the winners of the International Booker Prize 2024, for the novel, Kairos. Jenny and Michael join Jo and James to talk about whether their win has truly sunk in yet and what might be next, and administrator of the International Booker Prize, Fiammetta Rocco also joins to give some insight into how the prize works. It's our last episode of this season of The Booker Prize Podcast so make sure you don't miss this one – but all our previous episodes will continue to be available so you can listen whenever you want.

Find out more about Kairos: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/kairos

A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.

Follow The Booker Prize Podcast so you never miss an episode. Visit http://thebookerprizes.com/podcast to find out more about us, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok @thebookerprizes.

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With under a week until the International Booker Prize 2024 ceremony, we're back with the second part of our deep dive into this year's six shortlist books. Listen in to hear what Jo and James think of the remaining three books on the list, common themes that run across the shortlisted reads and which book they want to see win the award.
 
In this episode Jo and James discuss:

Brief biographies of each author, and short summaries of each book

Their thoughts on the three books books discussed in this episode

The common themes running through these books

Which book they think might win

Reading list:

Mater 2-10 by Hwang Sok-yong, translated by Sora Kim-Russell and Youngjae Josephine Bae: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/mater-2-10

Crooked Plow by Itamar Vieira Junior, translated by Johnny Lorenz: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/crooked-plow

Not a River by Selva Almada, translated by Annie McDermott: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/not-a-river

A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.

Follow The Booker Prize Podcast so you never miss an episode. Visit http://thebookerprizes.com/podcast to find out more about us, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok @thebookerprizes.
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We're three weeks away from the International Booker Prize 2024 award ceremony, so we thought it was high time to take a deep dive into this year's six shortlist books. In the first of two parts, we're exploring three of the books on this week's podcast episode. Listen in to hear what Jo and James make of them, common themes that run across the shortlisted reads and how the International Booker can expand one's world through literature.
 
In this episode Jo and James discuss:

Their initial thoughts on the 2024 shortlist as a whole

The common themes running through these books

Brief biographies of each author, and short summaries of each book

Their thoughts on the three books books discussed in this episode

Reading list:

The Details by Ia Genberg, translated by Kira Josefsson: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-details

Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck, translated by Michael Hofmann: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/kairos

What I'd Rather Not Think About by Jente Posthuma, translated by Sarah Timmer Harvey: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/what-id-rather-not-think-about

A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.

Follow The Booker Prize Podcast so you never miss an episode. Visit http://thebookerprizes.com/podcast to find out more about us, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok @thebookerprizes.
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Esi Edugyan’s thrilling novel follows the astonishing adventures of its titular character, Washington Black, whose escape from the brutal cane plantations of Barbados was only the beginning. Shortlisted for the 2018 Booker Prize and set to be released as a glitzy television adaptation starring Sterling K Brown and co-produced by Edugyan later this year, what better excuse to dive into the novel?

In this episode Jo and James:

Introduce our April Monthly Spotlight pick

Share a brief biography of Esi Edugyan and her work to date

Summarise the novel

Discuss the plot and their thoughts

Suggest the kind of reader who will love the book

Reading list:

The Second Life of Samuel Tyne by Esi Edugyan

Half Blood Blues by Esi Edugyan: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/half-blood-blues

Washington Black by Esi Edugyan: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/washington-black

Daughters of Africa, edited by Margaret Busby

The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/the-amber-spyglass

Any Human Heart by William Boyd: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/any-human-heart

This Other Eden by Paul Harding: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/this-other-eden

A full transcript of the episode is available at our website.
Follow The Booker Prize Podcast so you never miss an episode. Visit http://thebookerprizes.com/podcast to find out more about us, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok @thebookerprizes.

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In 1984, many assumed that J.G. Ballard's Empire of the Sun had the Booker Prize in the bag. But actually, it was Anita Brookner's Hotel du Lac that clinched the prize in the end. This week, we're exploring the bookies' favourite vs the Booker winner to ask which book should have won: Brookner's short, quiet novel set in a genteel Swiss hotel or Ballard's long and action-packed autobiographical epic set in wartime Shanghai.

In this episode Jo and James:

Discuss the Booker Prize 1984 shortlist

Share a brief biography of Anita Brookner

Summarise the plot of Anita Brookner's Hotel du Lac

Explore the characters in Brookner's novel

Share a brief biography of J.G. Ballard

Summarise the plot of Empire of the Sun

Who should read these books

Discuss their thoughts on both novels and which they think should have won the Booker Prize 1984

Reading list:

Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/empire-of-the-sun

Hotel du Lac by Anita Brookner: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/hotel-du-lac

Small World by David Lodge: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/small-world

Flaubert's Parrot by Julian Barnes: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/flauberts-parrot

In Custody by Anita Desai: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/in-custody

According to Mark by Penelope Lively: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/books/according-to-mark

A full transcript of the episode is available at our website: https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/the-booker-prize-podcast-episode-37-empire-of-the-sun-or-hotel-du-lac

Follow The Booker Prize Podcast so you never miss an episode. Visit http://thebookerprizes.com/podcast to find out more about us, and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Tiktok @thebookerprizes.
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