Zimbabwean lawyer and writer, Petina Gappah was appointed one of the 5 member panel of judges for the 2022 International Booker Prize.
The Booker Prizes exist to reward the finest in fiction, highlighting great books to readers. The International Booker Prize is awarded annually for a single book, translated into English and published in the UK or Ireland. The symmetrical relationship between the Booker Prize and the International Booker Prize ensures that the ‘Booker’ honours fiction on a global basis.
"I’m thrilled to be one of the judges of the 2022 International Booker Prize. I look forward to meeting this brilliant panel, to immersive and intensive reading and to what I love most about shared reading: talking and arguing about books!" said Petina Gappah in a statement
The panel is chaired by translator, Frank Wynne, and consists of: author and academic Merve Emre; writer and lawyer Petina Gappah; TV presenter, writer and actor Mel Giedroyc; and translator and author Jeremy Tiang. This is the first time a translator has chaired the panel
The International Booker Prize, with its focus on the importance of translation and the £50,000 prize split equally between author and translator, continues to build in global importance each year. This year, the shortlisted authors and translators will each receive £2,500, increased from £1,000 in previous years. The 2022 judging panel will be looking for the best work of translated fiction, selected from entries published in the UK or Ireland between 1 May 2021 and 30 April 2022.
"I’m thrilled to be one of the judges of the 2022 International Booker Prize. I look forward to meeting this brilliant panel, to immersive and intensive reading and to what I love most about shared reading: talking and arguing about books!" said Petina Gappah in a statement
The panel is chaired by translator, Frank Wynne, and consists of: author and academic Merve Emre; writer and lawyer Petina Gappah; TV presenter, writer and actor Mel Giedroyc; and translator and author Jeremy Tiang. This is the first time a translator has chaired the panel
Petina Gappah is currently the Principal Legal Advisor to the Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area based in Accra, Ghana. As well as being an international trade lawyer, Petina is a novelist and playwright. She is the author of two novels – Out of Darkness, Shining Light and The Book of Memory – and two short story collections: Rotten Row and An Elegy for Easterly. Her work has been published in more than a dozen languages, including by The New Yorker and Der Spiegel. She is the recipient of the Chautauqua Prize, the McKitterick Prize, the Guardian First Book Award and Zimbabwe’s NAMA Award.We’re excited to announce that the judges for the 2022 International Booker prize have today been revealed, as the prize also opens for submissions. Read more about all five members of the panel here: https://t.co/5CDXVuIG1a #2022InternationalBooker pic.twitter.com/tpl0M2Qngp
— The Booker Prizes (@TheBookerPrizes) July 14, 2021
The International Booker Prize, with its focus on the importance of translation and the £50,000 prize split equally between author and translator, continues to build in global importance each year. This year, the shortlisted authors and translators will each receive £2,500, increased from £1,000 in previous years. The 2022 judging panel will be looking for the best work of translated fiction, selected from entries published in the UK or Ireland between 1 May 2021 and 30 April 2022.