International Booker Prize 2023 shortlisted books

Discover our reading guides for the International Booker Prize 2023 shortlist

Whether you’re new to the books or would like to explore them more deeply, our guides are packed with insights from critics, judges, authors and translators, as well as discussion points and suggestions for further reading

Published April 24, 2023

Reading guide: Boulder by Eva Baltasar, translated by Julia Sanches

Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2023, Eva Baltasar’s poetic and sensual novella is a sumptuous exploration of appetite, and a love story between two women with very different visions of motherhood

Reading guide: Whale by Cheon Myeong-kwan, translated by Chi-Young Kim

Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2023, Cheon Myeong-kwan’s novel is a rollercoaster adventure through Korean history and culture, a magical epic about life, death, liberty – and bricks

Reading guide: The Gospel According to The New Word by Maryse Condé, translated by Richard Philcox

Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2023, The Gospel According to the New World is a modern-day retelling of the story of Christ, set in the awe-inspiring landscapes of the Americas

Reading guide: Standing Heavy by GauZ’, translated by Frank Wynne

Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2023, Standing Heavy is the story of colonialism and consumerism in modern France, told from the point of view of invisible members of society who see everything

Reading guide: Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov, translated by Angela Rodel

Our comprehensive guide to Time Shelter, winner of the International Booker Prize 2023, includes a range of discussion points for book groups, insights from the author and further resources

Reading guide: Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel, translated by Rosalind Harvey

Shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2023, Guadalupe Nettel’s gripping and insightful fourth novel explores one of life’s most consequential decisions – whether or not to have children

Discover our reading guides for the International Booker Prize 2023 shortlist

Reading guide: Boulder by Eva Baltasar, translated by Julia Sanches

Reading guide: Whale by Cheon Myeong-kwan, translated by Chi-Young Kim

Reading guide: The Gospel According to The New Word by Maryse Condé, translated by Richard Philcox

Reading guide: Standing Heavy by GauZ’, translated by Frank Wynne

Reading guide: Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov, translated by Angela Rodel

Reading guide: Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel, translated by Rosalind Harvey

Read more about the International Booker Prize 2023

Six things you need to know about the International Booker Prize 2023 shortlist

Generation TF: who is really reading translated fiction in the UK

Quiz: which book from the International Booker Prize 2023 longlist should you read?

Interviews with the International Booker Prize 2023 longlistees

Extracts from the International Booker Prize 2023 longlist

Discover our reading guides for the International Booker Prize 2023 shortlist

Reading guide: Boulder by Eva Baltasar, translated by Julia Sanches

Reading guide: Whale by Cheon Myeong-kwan, translated by Chi-Young Kim

Reading guide: The Gospel According to The New Word by Maryse Condé, translated by Richard Philcox

Reading guide: Standing Heavy by GauZ’, translated by Frank Wynne

Reading guide: Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov, translated by Angela Rodel

Reading guide: Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel, translated by Rosalind Harvey

Read more about the International Booker Prize 2023

Six things you need to know about the International Booker Prize 2023 shortlist

Generation TF: who is really reading translated fiction in the UK

Quiz: which book from the International Booker Prize 2023 longlist should you read?

Interviews with the International Booker Prize 2023 longlistees

Extracts from the International Booker Prize 2023 longlist

Features

Georgi Gospodinov's Time Shelter playlist: the prize-winning novel in 12 songs

What Georgi Gospodinov and Angela Rodel said after winning the International Booker Prize

What everybody is saying about Time Shelter winning the International Booker Prize

Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov, translated by Angela Rodel, wins the International Booker Prize 2023

'Spinning an illusion': what exactly do literary translators do?

Watch our video Q&As with the International Booker Prize 2023 shortlistees

Watch performers read from the International Booker Prize 2023 shortlist

Join the winners of the International Booker Prize for a live Q&A and special film screening

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International Booker Prize 2023: take our shortlist trivia quiz

32 books that have inspired the International Booker Prize 2023 shortlistees

Read our interviews with the International Booker Prize 2023 shortlistees

Reading guide: Time Shelter by Georgi Gospodinov, translated by Angela Rodel

Reading guide: The Gospel According to The New Word by Maryse Condé, translated by Richard Philcox

Reading guide: Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel, translated by Rosalind Harvey

Reading guide: Whale by Cheon Myeong-kwan, translated by Chi-Young Kim

Reading guide: Boulder by Eva Baltasar, translated by Julia Sanches

Reading guide: Standing Heavy by GauZ’, translated by Frank Wynne

Win a set of all six books from the International Booker Prize 2023 shortlist

Julia Sanches interview: 'The mythical English reader is just that, a myth'

Rosalind Harvey interview: 'The separation of translated fiction from so-called original fiction is false'

Richard Philcox interview: ‘A translation can be a work of literature on its own’

Eva Baltasar interview: 'I wrote three versions of Boulder and deleted two'

Frank Wynne interview: 'Literature in translation is a powerful way of fostering empathy'

Chi-Young Kim interview: ‘The characters in Whale felt so familiar to me’

Guadalupe Nettel interview: 'Many demands weigh on mothers'

Cheon Myeong-kwan interview: ‘Whale is still a propulsive force in my life'

GauZ' interview: 'Africans never abandon laughter, no matter how serious the situation'

Angela Rodel interview: ‘Translators don’t play second fiddle to authors, it’s like a duet’

Georgi Gospodinov interview: ‘I felt something had gone awry in the clockworks of time'

Maryse Condé interview: ‘After losing my vision, I wrote each chapter in my head’

Why you should read the International Booker Prize 2023 shortlist, according to our judges

Six things you need to know about the International Booker Prize 2023 shortlist

Why we should celebrate translated fiction, according to 2023's International Booker longlistees

Interviews with the International Booker Prize 2023 longlistees

Quiz: which book from the International Booker Prize 2023 longlist should you read?

An extract from The Gospel According to the New World by Maryse Condé, translated by Richard Philcox

An extract from Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel, translated by Rosalind Harvey

An extract from Whale by Cheon Myeong-kwan, translated by Chi-Young Kim

An extract from Standing Heavy by GauZ', translated by Frank Wynne

An extract from Boulder by Eva Baltasar, translated by Julia Sanches

Win a set of all 13 books on the International Booker Prize 2023 longlist

International Booker Prize 2023: what our judges said about the longlist

The International Booker Prize 2023 longlist: 13 things you need to know

A Booker Prize reading list for Black History Month

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Rosalind Harvey interview: 'The separation of translated fiction from so-called original fiction is false'