Indie publishers shortlisted for Independent Foreign Fiction Prize

The Bookseller - 10.03.11- Katie Allen

Indie publishers have scored highly on the longlist for this year's Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, with three titles from Portobello on the 15-strong list.

Atlantic, Quercus, Granta, Peirene Press and Faber have also secured places, including Faber's The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk, a previous winner, translated by Maureen Freely. Bloomsbury also has a title, while Random imprint Harvill Secker scored three, and Jonathan Cape one more.

The £10,000 prize celebrates an exceptional work of fiction by a living author which has been translated into English from any other language, and is divided between the writer and translator equally. The costs are supported by Arts Council England, the Independent and Champagne Taittinger.

"Literature in translation gives readers new ways of understanding our fast-changing world," said Antonia Byatt, director, literature, ACE. "This year's longlist is a fantastic demonstration of the rich range and quality of fiction in translation being published in Britain today and it's wonderful to see so many languages represented from all over the world."

A shortlist of six will be revealed on 11th April at the London Book Fair and the overall winner will be announced at an awards ceremony on 26th May.

The longlist in full:
Visitation by Jenny Erpenbeck, translated by Susan Bernofsky (Portobello)
Kamchatka by Marcelo Figueras, translated by Frank Wynne (Atlantic)
To the End of the Land by David Grossman, translated by Jessica Cohen (Jonathan Cape)
Fame by Daniel Kehlmann, translated by Carol Brown Janeway (Quercus)
Beside the Sea by Veronique Olmi, translated by Adriana Hunter (Peirene Press)
The Museum of Innocence by Orhan Pamuk, translated by Maureen Freely (Faber)
I Curse the River of Time by Per Petterson, translated by Charlotte Barslund with Per Petterson (Harvill Secker)
Red April by Santiago Roncagliolo, translated by Edith Grossman (Atlantic)
Gargling with Tar by Jachym Topol, translated by David Short (Portobello)
The Sickness by Alberto Berrera Tyszka, translated by Margaret Jull Costa (Quercus/Maclehose Press)
The Secret History of Costaguana by Juan Gabriel Vasquez, translated by Anne McLean (Bloomsbury)
The Journey of Anders Sparrman by Per Wastberg, translated by Tom Geddes (Granta)
Lovetown by Michal Witkowski, translated by W Martin (Portobello Books )
Villain by Shuichi Yoshida, translated by Philip Gabriel (Harvill Secker)
Dark Matter by Juli Zeh, translated by Christine Lo (Harvill Secker)