Kairos, written by Jenny Erpenbeck and translated by Michael Hofmann, has been named the winner of the International Booker Prize 2024. The novel follows a destructive affair between a young woman and an older man in 1980s East Berlin, with the two lovers seemingly embodying East Germany’s crushed idealism. Jenny Erpenbeck becomes the first German writer to win the prize, while Michael Hofmann becomes the first male translator to win.
Each year, the International Booker Prize is awarded to a book translated into English and published in the United Kingdom or Ireland. It is intended to recognise and value world-class fiction on a global basis.
In 2005, the International Booker Prize was awarded for the first time still under the title of the "Man Booker International Prize". Early winners include Ismail Kadare (2005), Chinua Achebe (2007), Alice Ann Munro (2009), Philip Milton Roth (2011), as well as Lydia Davis (2013) and László Krasznahorkai (2015). The aim of the prize is to encourage the reading of high quality fiction from around the world and also to appreciate the work of translators.
The prize is worth £50,000, which is shared equally between the author and the translator. Additionally, each shortlisted title receives £2,500.
International Booker Prize-winning books
