The longlist for the inaugural Republic of Consciousness Prize, United States and Canada, given annually to a work of literary fiction published by a small press, has been revealed.
Jon Fosse’s A New Name, Septology VI-VII, translated by Damion Searls and published by Transit Books, made the longlist; the book was previously a finalist for the International Booker Prize and the National Book Award.
Fosse’s book is one of six translated books to be nominated for the award. The others are Blood Red by Gabriela Ponce, translated by Sarah Booker (Restless Books); Family Album: Stories by Gabriela Alemán, translated by Dick Cluster and Mary Ellen Fieweger (City Lights Books); Moldy Strawberries: Stories by Caio Fernando Abreu, translated by Bruna Dantas Lobato (Archipelago Books); Pollak’s Arm by Hans von Trotha, translated by Elisabeth Lauffer (New Vessel Press); and New and Selected Stories by Cristina Rivera Garza, translated by Sarah Booker, Lisa Dillman, Francisca González Arias, and Alex Ross (Dorothy, A Publishing Project).
Suzette Mayr’s Giller Prize–winning The Sleeping Car Porter, published by Coach House Books, was nominated for the prize, along with Ella Baxter’s New Animal, published by Two Dollar Radio.
Also making the longlist were Get ’Em Young, Treat ’Em Tough, Tell ’Em Nothing by Robin McLean (And Other Stories) and God’s Children Are Little Broken Things: Stories by Arinze Ifeakandu (A Public Space Books), a finalist for the Kirkus Prize in 2022.
Each press on the longlist will receive a cash award of $2,000. When the shortlist of five books is announced, $15,000 will be split among the books, with the money going to the press, writer, and, if applicable, translators. The winning book’s prize will be “bragging rights,” according to the release.
The Republic of Consciousness Prize, the North American iteration of a U.K. literary award, was founded by book critic and bookstore co-owner Lori Feathers. This is the first year the prize will be awarded.
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
