The Eclectic IMPAC Shortlist Has Arrived

C. Max Magee April 12, 2011 | 10 books mentioned 4 3 min read

The IMPAC Award shortlist was announced today. The IMPAC sets itself apart with its unique approach. Its massive longlist is compiled by libraries all over the world before being whittled down by judges. This makes for a more egalitarian selection. It’s also got a long lead time. Books up for the current prize (to be named June 15th) were all published in 2009, putting the IMPAC more than a year behind other big literary awards. There’s a distinct upside in this. By now, nearly all the shortlisted books are available in paperback in the U.S. The IMPAC also tends to be interesting for the breadth of books it considers.

This year’s shortlist is typically eclectic, representing four countries and ranging from bestsellers, to relative unknowns.

Galore by Michael Crummey (excerpt, At The Millions, Michael Crummey’s “Whale Music“)
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (excerpt, In his Year in Reading, Sam Anderson suggests some edits.)
The Vagrants by Yiyun Li(excerpt, At The Millions, Yiyun Li on Per Petterson)
Ransom by David Malouf (excerpt)
Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann (excerpt, A Millions Hall of Famer)
Little Bird of Heaven by Joyce Carol Oates
Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey (excerpt)
Brooklyn by Colm Toibín (excerpt, Edan’s Year in Reading)
Love and Summer by William Trevor (excerpt)
After the Fire, a Still Small Voice by Evie Wyld (excerpt)

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C. Max Magee created The Millions and is its publisher. He and his family live in New Jersey.

The 2017 BTBA Finalists for Fiction and Poetry

Editor April 18, 2017 | 10 books mentioned 3 min read

Last month, we unveiled the longlists for the Best Translated Book Awards (BTBA), an award founded by Three Percent that comes with a $5,000 prize for author and translator alike. Below, behold the finalists. The winner will be announced at a ceremony in New York and at The Millions on May 4. For more information on the award, its history, the judges, etc., please visit the official Best Translated Book Award site and the official BTBA Facebook page, and follow the award on Twitter. Best Translated Book Award 2017: Fiction Finalists Wicked Weeds by Pedro Cabiya, translated from the Spanish by Jessica Powell (Dominican Republic, Mandel Vilar Press) Chronicle of the Murdered House by Lúcio Cardoso, translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa and Robin Patterson (Brazil, Open Letter Books) Eve Out of Her Ruins by Ananda Devi, translated from the French by Jeffrey Zuckerman (Mauritius, Deep Vellum) Zama by Antonio di Benedetto, translated from the Spanish by Esther Allen (Argentina, New York Review Books) Doomi Golo by Boubacar Boris Diop, translated from the Wolof by Vera Wülfing-Leckie and El Hadji Moustapha Diop (Senegal, Michigan State University Press) War and Turpentine by Stefan Hertmans, translated from the Dutch by David McKay (Belgium, Pantheon) Umami by Laia Jufresa, translated from the Spanish by Sophie Hughes (Mexico, Oneworld) Oblivion by Sergi Lebedev, translated from the Russian by Antonina W. Bouis (Russia, New Vessel Press) Ladivine by Marie NDiaye, translated from the French by Jordan Stump (France, Knopf) Among Strange Victims by Daniel Saldaña Paris, translated from the Spanish by Christina MacSweeney (Mexico, Coffee House Press) Best Translated Book Award 2017: Poetry Finalists Berlin-Hamlet by Szilárd Borbély, translated from the Hungarian by Ottilie Mulzet (Hungary, New York Review Books) Of Things by Michael Donhauser, translated from the German by Nick Hoff and Andrew Joron (Austria, Burning Deck Press) Cheer Up, Femme Fatale by Yideum Kim, translated from the Korean by Ji Yoon Lee, Don Mee Choi, and Johannes Göransson (South Korea, Action Books) In Praise of Defeat by Abdellatif Laâbi, translated from the French by Donald Nicholson-Smith (Morocco, Archipelago Books) Extracting the Stone of Madness by Alejandra Pizarnik, translated from the Spanish by Yvette Siegert (Argentina, New Directions) (read our review)

Editor | 10 books mentioned 3 min read

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Digging into the 2010 IMPAC Longlist

C. Max Magee November 2, 2009 | 10 books mentioned 3 min read

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And the Winners of the Best Translated Book Awards Are…

Editor May 4, 2016 | 10 books mentioned 3 min read

Yuri Herrera’s 'Signs Preceding the End of the World' -- translated by Lisa Dillman -- and Angélica Freitas’s 'Rilke Shake' -- translated by Hilary Kaplan -- won this year’s Best Translated Book Awards.

Editor | 10 books mentioned 3 min read

IMPAC Unveils Eclectic Shortlist

C. Max Magee April 12, 2010 | 10 books mentioned 2 2 min read

The IMPAC Award shortlist was announced last night. The IMPAC sets itself apart with its unique approach. Its massive longlist is compiled by libraries all over the world before being whittled down by judges. This makes for a more egalitarian selection. It's also got a long lead time. Books up for the current prize (to be named June 17th) were all published in 2008, putting the IMPAC more than a year behind other big literary awards. There's a distinct upside in this. By now, all the shortlisted books are available in paperback. We've also always found the IMPAC interesting for the breadth of books it considers.This year's shortlist is typically eclectic, representing six countries and ranging from bestsellers, to relative unknowns.The Twin by Gerbrand Bakker (excerpt (pdf), Best Translated Book Award shortlist)The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery (excerpt (pdf))In Zodiac Light by Robert Edric(Guardian review)Settlement by Christoph Hein (at The Complete Review)The Believers by Zoë Heller (The Millions Interview)Netherland by Joseph O’Neill (O’Neill in our Year in Reading, Garth's review, Kevin's review)God's Own Country by Ross Raisin (excerpt)Home by Marilynne Robinson (excerpt)

C. Max Magee | 10 books mentioned 2 2 min read

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4 comments:

Kerry Riley says:

April 12, 2011 at 10:47 pm

Well deserved recognition for Michael Crummey’s Galore!
Alexander T! says:

April 13, 2011 at 8:09 am

Hey!! Barbara Kingsolver went to school here at Depauw! It is good to see her on the list.

I will try to check out “Galore” based on the above recommendation.

Plus, not to be unfun, but hasn’t “Let the Great World Spin” received enough love/attention!?!
Courtney Thomas Vance says:

April 13, 2011 at 12:47 pm

Part of me questions how egalitarian the selection method really is. Most of these books already seem to have gotten a lot of attention and critical recognition. If they’re the best books, that’s certainly fine, but I wish selection committees made more of an effort to discover books that aren’t already famous. It just makes me question their methodology.
Marisa Alps says:

April 13, 2011 at 1:24 pm

Michael Crummey’s Galore was my favourite novel of 2009. I am so glad to see it get the recognition it deserves.

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Booker Shortlist – With Excerpts!

C. Max Magee September 14, 2006 | 10 books mentioned 2 min read

Forget the longlist. The Booker Prize shortlist is here, and favorites Peter Carey and David Mitchell didn't make the cut, clearing the field for lesser known writers as the Guardian describes. Those that did make the list are:The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai - Excerpt The Secret River by Kate Grenville - Excerpt Carry Me Down by M.J. Hyland - Excerpt In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar - Excerpt Mother's Milk by Edward St. Aubyn - Excerpt The Night Watch by Sarah Waters - Excerpt Bonus Links: The new favorite? According to the oddsmakers, it's Sarah Waters by a wide margin. Maud collects reviews and interviews to accompany the shortlist.

C. Max Magee | 10 books mentioned 2 min read

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Canadian Short Story Master Alice Munro Wins the Nobel Prize for Literature

C. Max Magee October 10, 2013 | 10 books mentioned 5 2 min read

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Chinese Novelist Mo Yan Wins the Nobel Prize for Literature

C. Max Magee October 11, 2012 | 10 books mentioned 9 3 min read

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The Madness Approaches

C. Max Magee February 22, 2007 | 10 books mentioned

All sorts of madness is coming in March. Of course, there is the basketball sort, of which it appears my long beleaguered alma mater may finally be taking part (go Wahoos!)But more cogent to this blog and its readers, the literary world's more refined yet no less raucous brand of madness is on its way, The Morning News 2007 Tournament of Books. If you aren't familiar, here's how it works: the TMN editors pick a bunch of books from the past year or so and align them in a bracket, tournament style. However, instead of having these books hash it out on a basketball court, which wouldn't make much sense, TMN assigns each pair of books to a prominent blogger or reviewer or literary type, who then picks which one goes through to the next round.Why does TMN do this? Well, tournament commissioner Kevin Guilfoile explains it thusly in this year's introductory essay:Exchanging emails with the TMN editors after a few glasses of Argentinean Malbec, we each confessed that we're attracted to the sexiness of book awards despite the fact that book awards are also arbitrary and stupid.And so the Tourney was born. Just like with that other tournament, the brackets aren't out yet, but several candidates have been named, among them a few books that have been reviewed here at The Millions, including Against the Day, which was reviewed by Garth, The Lay of the Land, which was reviewed by Noah, and Kate Atkinson's One Good Turn, which I wrote about a few months back.Also, at the bottom of that introductory essay, readers can vote to pick which books should be included in the "Readers' Favorites round."

C. Max Magee | 10 books mentioned

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