‘War and Turpentine’ longlisted for The Man Booker International Prize

War and Turpentine (Harvill Secker) is longlisted for The Man Booker International Prize 2017. For the author Stefan Hertmans and his translator David McKay this accolade is the last episode in a successful journey into the English-speaking world, after being named ‘One of the ten best books of 2016’ by The New York Times and ‘a future classic’ by The Guardian.

The Man Booker International Prize celebrates the finest works of translated fiction from around the world. The judges considered 126 books, and picked out a longlist of 13 titles. The prize is awarded every year for a single book, which is translated into English and published in the UK. The work of translators is equally rewarded, with the £50,000 prize divided between the author and the translator of the winning entry. The shortlist of six books will be announced on 20 April and the winner of the 2017 prize will be announced on 14 June.

Meanwhile, David McKay is already translating Stefan Hertmans’ latest novel The Convert, that recently came out in Germany (translated as ‘Die Fremde’ by Ira Wilhelm). ‘The Convert’ is both a love story and a historical novel about religious wars, refugees and violence causing chaos in medieval Europe.