German author Jenny Erpenbeck and translator Michael Hofmann won the International Booker Prize for fiction 2024 for “Kairos.”
- The novel tells the story of a tangled love affair during the final years of East Germany’s existence. Kairos’ traces an affair from a utopian beginning to a bitter end, and draws parallels between personal lives and the life of the state.
- Ms. Erpenbeck is the first German winner of the International Booker Prize, and Mr. Hofmann is the first male translator to win since the prize launched in its current form in 2016.
International Booker Prize
- The International Booker Prize recognizes fiction from around the world that has been translated into English and published in the U.K. or Ireland.
- The 50,000 pounds ($64,000) in prize money is divided between author and translator.
- The International Booker Prize is awarded every year. It is run alongside the Booker Prize for English-language fiction, which will be handed out in the fall.
- Last year’s winner was another novel about communism and its legacy in Europe, ‘Time Shelter’ by Bulgarian writer Georgi Gospodinov and translated by Angela Rode.
