To celebrate this year’s International Booker Prize winner, Kairos, written by Jenny Erpenbeck and translated from German by Michael Hofmann, we are giving you the chance to win a bundle including a signed copy of the novel and a limited-edition, exclusive Booker Prizes tote bag and bookmark.

Kairos was announced as the winner of the International Booker Prize 2024 on May 21, 2024. The novel charts the intimate and devastating story of the path of two lovers through the ruins of a relationship, set against the backdrop of a seismic period in European history.

Berlin. 11 July 1986. They meet by chance on a bus. She is a young student, he is older and married. Theirs is an intense and sudden attraction, fuelled by a shared passion for music and art, and heightened by the secrecy they must maintain. But when she strays for a single night he cannot forgive her and a dangerous crack forms between them, opening up a space for cruelty, punishment and the exertion of power. And the world around them is changing too: as the GDR begins to crumble, so too do all the old certainties and the old loyalties, ushering in a new era whose great gains also involve profound loss. 

The Booker Prize tote bags are designed by illustrator Adam Simpson and feature Iris, the Booker Prize trophy. The bags are not available to buy anywhere.

To be in with a chance of winning, simply enter your details below by 12:00 BST on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. This competition is open to readers anywhere in the world.

‘In luminous prose, Jenny Erpenbeck exposes the complexity of a relationship between a young student and a much older writer, tracking the daily tensions and reversals that mark their intimacy, staying close to the apartments, cafés, and city streets, workplaces and foods of East Berlin. It starts with love and passion, but it’s at least as much about power, art and culture. The self-absorption of the lovers, their descent into a destructive vortex, remains connected to the larger history of East Germany during this period, often meeting history at odd angles. 

‘Michael Hofmann’s translation captures the eloquence and eccentricities of Erpenbeck’s writing, the rhythm of its run-on sentences, the expanse of her emotional vocabulary. 

‘What makes Kairos so unusual is that it is both beautiful and uncomfortable, personal and political. Erpenbeck invites you to make the connection between these generation-defining political developments and a devastating, even brutal love affair, questioning the nature of destiny and agency. Like the GDR, it starts with optimism and trust, then unravels.’

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 by 12:00 BST on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. Entries received after this time will not be eligible. 
• Each winner will receive a signed paperback copy of Kairos (current U.K edition), a limited-edition Booker Prize tote bag and bookmark.
• 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 the adult themes of the book, 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 on Wednesday, June 12, 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 will aim to despatch prizes as soon as possible after the competition has closed, 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.