Not a River
by Selva Almada
Translated by Annie McDermott
Competition
Win a set of all six books on the International Booker Prize 2024 shortlist
We’re offering you the chance to win one of five bundles made up of all six shortlisted titles in contention for this year’s International Booker Prize
This competition is now closed
To celebrate the announcement of the International Booker Prize 2024 shortlist, we are giving you the chance to win a set of all six titles that are in contention for this year’s prize.
Each year the International Booker Prize introduces readers to the best novels and short story collections from around the world that have been translated into English and published in the UK and/or Ireland. The winning title will be announced at a ceremony on 21 May 2024.
Chair of judges Eleanor Wachtel said this year’s shortlist ‘opens onto vast geographies of the mind, often showing lives lived against the backdrop of history or, more precisely, interweaving the intimate and the political in radically original ways’.
Fiammetta Rocco, Administrator of the International Booker Prize, added that the books ‘cast a forensic eye on divided families and divided societies, revisiting pasts both recent and distant to help make sense of the present and exploring what happens when territory is claimed, disturbed and disputed’.
The titles shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2024 are:
Not a River by Selva Almada, translated from Spanish by Annie McDermott
Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck, translated from German by Michael Hofmann
The Details by Ia Genberg, translated from Swedish by Kira Josefsson
Mater 2-10 by Hwang Sok-yong, translated from Korean by Sora Kim-Russell and Youngjae Josephine Bae
What I’d Rather Not Think About by Jente Posthuma, translated from Dutch by Sarah Timmer Harvey
Crooked Plow by Itamar Vieira Junior, translated from Portuguese by Johnny Lorenz
To be in with a chance of winning one set of books, simply enter your details below by 12:00 BST on Monday, April 22, 2024. This competition is open to readers anywhere in the world.
The International Booker Prize 2024 shortlist
Terms and conditions
This competition is a free draw, with only one entry allowed per person, and we reserve the right to disqualify any entries where we suspect one person has used a number of different email addresses. Use or attempted use of any automated or other non-manual entry methods is prohibited.
The draw is governed by our general rules for competitions, available here, but the following specifics also apply (and take precedence should there be any contradiction or ambiguity):
- There will be five winners, selected at random from entries received before 12:00 BST (UK time) on Monday, April 22, 2024. Entries received after this time will not be eligible.
- Each winner will receive the six titles (in their current UK editions) on the International Booker Prize 2024 shortlist.
- Entrants must be 18 or over, and we reserve the right to ask for proof of age at any point in the competition; prize-winners should be aware of adult themes within the longlisted titles, particularly if sharing it with other readers.
- The competition is open to those resident in or outside the UK subject to the proviso that an entry is not eligible if it is from a resident in a country or jurisdiction where this free draw may breach any local law or regulation.
- Winners will be notified by email no later than 12:00 BST (UK time) on Monday, April 29, 2024, and must promptly provide a fully operative postal address for delivery of their prize. If we have not received this within 7 days of us notifying a winner, we will have no obligation to deliver the prize and at our sole discretion, we may select a further winner to receive the prize concerned or simply decide not to give it.
- We may in due course and at our sole discretion publicise the names of the winners and their location (in general terms, not specific addresses) on our website and/or social media channels and by entering the competition an entrant agrees to this publicity should they be a prize-winner.
- We can only undertake to do what is reasonable in all the circumstances to deliver the prize to a location outside the UK.
- Bearing in mind, among other things, the value of the prize itself in relation to cost of delivery, we reserve the right (and this is determined at our sole discretion) to ask a winner to provide an alternative address for delivery to a person/location where the cost is proportionate.
- Winners are responsible for any taxes or duties they may have to pay in order to take receipt of their prize.
- While we use our best endeavours to despatch prizes as soon as possible after the competition has closed with prizes despatched once received from the publishers; no responsibility can be accepted for entries delayed or lost.
- We are not responsible for any damage to the prize in the course of delivery; while we will consider a request for a replacement (if available) if the prize arrives in a seriously damaged state, this is solely in our discretion depending on the particular circumstances.
- These terms and conditions are governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of England & Wales, and the courts of England & Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction in relation determining any question or issue in relation to them.
What the judges said about the shortlist
Not a River by Selva Almada, translated from Spanish by Annie McDermott
‘A deceptively simple novel about a seemingly bucolic fishing trip in Argentina which slowly reveals a deep sense of foreboding and memories of trauma. The economy and clarity of the writing hold the reader from the very beginning, while the author feels like a secure guide, taking us by the hand through dangerous terrain.’
Kairos by Jenny Erpenbeck, translated from German by Michael Hofman
‘Uncomfortable and complex, this is a richly textured evocation of a tormented love affair in the dying years of East Germany, which shows how the weight of history impinges on our lives. In fluid, musical sentences, Erpenbeck brings the reader close to her characters and to the fraught demands they face.’
The Details by la Genberg, translated from Swedish by Kira Josefsson
‘A delicately written Swedish novel that speaks to our contemporary experiences of connection and isolation and which shows how quickly people move in and out of our lives. This is a book about friendship and loss in which the narrator quickly becomes a companion to whose voice you want to continue listening until the very end.’
Mater 2-10 by Hwang Sok-yong, translated from Korean by Sora Kim-Russell and Youngjae Josephine Bae
‘A passionate novel of Korean resilience, which depicts the miracles of determination and survival of an entire culture through its most despairing and hopeful times.’
What I’d Rather Not Think About by Jente Posthuma, translated from Dutch by Sarah Timmer Harvey
‘A moving portrait of the intertwining lives of Dutch twins, grappling with the complexities of identity, loss, and the unspoken bonds that define us. The book’s raw exploration of a sibling relationship, coupled with a rare authenticity in depicting the process of mourning, provides a narrative that’s both uniquely insightful and tender in its humanity.’
Crooked Plow by Itamar Vieira Junior, translated from Portuguese by Johnny Lorenz
‘An evocative journey into the heart of rural Brazil, which speaks to the importance of remembering our histories and protecting the land that sustains us. The novel’s deep dive into the quilombo communities offers a unique window into a world where the legacy of resistance and the fight for land rights weave through the personal and collective narratives of its characters, a perspective rarely captured with such intimacy and authenticity.’
