The International Booker Prize revealed its 2025 shortlist, with six books in contention for the annual award given to a work of fiction translated into English and published in the U.K. or Ireland.
Perfection, written by Italian author Vincenzo Latronico and translated by Sophie Hughes, made the shortlist. This is Hughes’ first translation from Italian, and the third time she has appeared on the shortlist; she was previously a finalist for her translations of The Remainder by Alia Trabucco Zerán and Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor.
Heart Lamp, written by Indian author Banu Mushtaq and translated by Deepa Bhasthi, was named a finalist; it is the first book originally written in the Kannada language to make the prize’s shortlist. On the Calculation of Volume: Book I, the first entry in a planned septology by Danish author Solvej Balle, translated by Barbara J. Haveland, also made the shortlist.
Also named finalists were Small Boat, written by French author Vincent Delecroix and translated by Helen Stevenson; Under the Eye of the Big Bird, written by Japanese author Hiromi Kawakami and translated by Asa Yoneda; and A Leopard-Skin Hat, written by French author Anne Serre and translated by Mark Hutchinson.
The International Booker Prize was established in 2004. Previous winners include The Vegetarian, written by South Korean author Han Kang and translated by Deborah Smith, and At Night All Blood Is Black, written by French author David Diop and translated by Anna Moschovakis. The winner of this year’s award will be announced at a ceremony in London on May 20.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
