International Booker Prize Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids International Booker Prize
Inaugural winner Ismail Kadare
Presented by	Booker Prize Foundation
Country	United Kingdom
Reward	£50,000
First awarded	2005; 20 years ago (2005)

The International Booker Prize is a special award for books. It's given in the United Kingdom. This prize celebrates amazing fiction books that have been translated into English. It used to be called the Man Booker International Prize.

Since 2016, the award is given every year. It goes to a single book or a collection of short stories. The book must be translated into English and published in the UK or Ireland. The winning author and their translator share a £50,000 prize.

A group called Crankstart started helping with the Booker Prizes on June 1, 2019. This is when the prize became known as The International Booker Prize. Sir Michael Moritz, who helps fund the prize, said he and his wife love reading. He believes the prizes help share the "pleasures and joy that spring from great fiction."

History of the Prize

Before 2016

Before 2016, the International Booker Prize was different. It was given every two years to a living author for all their books. This was similar to the Nobel Prize for Literature. The prize was worth £60,000. If the winning author's books were translated, their translator could also get a £15,000 prize.

The first winner in 2005 was Ismail Kadare from Albania. A journalist named Hephzibah Anderson said the prize was becoming very important. It was seen as a good alternative to the Nobel Prize.

Year	Author	Country	Translator	Language
2005	Ismail Kadare	Albania	N/A	Albanian
2007	Chinua Achebe	Nigeria	N/A	English
2009	Alice Munro	Canada	N/A	English
2011	Philip Roth	United States	N/A	English
2013	Lydia Davis	United States	N/A	English
2015	László Krasznahorkai	Hungary	George Szirtes and Ottilie Mulzet	Hungarian

From 2016 Onwards

In July 2015, the prize changed. It became an annual award for a single book. The £50,000 prize is now split equally between the author and the translator. This change helps to encourage the publishing and reading of great translated books. It also highlights the important work of translators.

Judges choose a longlist of 12 or 13 books in March. This is sometimes called "the Booker Dozen." Then, they pick a shortlist of six books in April. The winner is announced in May.

Year	Author	Country	Translator	Country	Work	Language
2016	Han Kang	South Korea	Deborah Smith	United Kingdom	The Vegetarian 채식주의자	Korean
2017	David Grossman	Israel	Jessica Cohen	Israel/UK/US	A Horse Walks into a Bar סוס אחד נכנס לבר‎	Hebrew
2018	Olga Tokarczuk	Poland	Jennifer Croft	United States	Flights Bieguni	Polish
2019	Jokha al-Harthi	Oman	Marilyn Booth	United States	Celestial Bodies سيدات القمر	Arabic
2020	Marieke Lucas Rijneveld	Netherlands	Michele Hutchison	United Kingdom	The Discomfort of Evening De avond is ongemak	Dutch
2021	David Diop	France	Anna Moschovakis	United States	At Night All Blood Is Black Frère d'âme	French
2022	Geetanjali Shree	India	Daisy Rockwell	United States	Tomb of Sand रेत समाधि	Hindi
2023	Georgi Gospodinov	Bulgaria	Angela Rodel	United Kingdom/ United States	Time Shelter Времеубежище	Bulgarian
2024	Jenny Erpenbeck	Germany	Michael Hofmann	Germany	Kairos	German
2025	Banu Mushtaq	India	Deepa Bhasthi	India	Heart Lamp: Selected Stories	Kannada

Past Winners and Nominees

2005 Prize

The first International Booker Prize was judged by John Carey, Alberto Manguel, and Azar Nafisi. The winner was Albanian novelist Ismail Kadare. The head judge, Professor John Carey, called Kadare "a universal writer." Kadare was very honored to receive the prize.

Winner: Ismail Kadare

2007 Prize

The 2007 prize was judged by Elaine Showalter, Nadine Gordimer, and Colm Tóibín. Nigerian author Chinua Achebe won the award for his many books. Judge Nadine Gordimer said Achebe was "the father of modern African literature."

Winner: Chinua Achebe

2009 Prize

The 2009 prize was judged by Jane Smiley, Amit Chaudhuri, and Andrey Kurkov. Canadian short story writer Alice Munro won for her lifetime of work. Judge Jane Smiley said Munro's work was "practically perfect." Munro was "totally amazed and delighted" by her win.

Winner: Alice Munro

2011 Prize

The 2011 prize was judged by Rick Gekoski, Carmen Callil, and Justin Cartwright. American novelist Philip Roth was announced as the winner. Roth said it was "a great honour" and hoped it would help more people discover his books.

Winner: Philip Roth

2013 Prize

The 2013 prize was judged by Christopher Ricks, Elif Batuman, Aminatta Forna, Yiyun Li, and Tim Parks. Lydia Davis, known for her short stories, won the prize. The official announcement said her work had "the brevity and precision of poetry."

Winner: Lydia Davis

2015 Prize

The 2015 prize was judged by Marina Warner, Nadeem Aslam, Elleke Boehmer, Edwin Frank, and Wen-chin Ouyang. László Krasznahorkai became the first author from Hungary to win. The judges praised his "achievement in fiction on the world stage." His translators, George Szirtes and Ottilie Mulzet, shared the £15,000 translators' prize.

Winner: László Krasznahorkai

2016 Prize

The 2016 prize was the first under the new format. The winner was Han Kang from South Korea for her novel The Vegetarian. Her translator, Deborah Smith, shared the prize. The head judge, Boyd Tonkin, said the book was "compact, exquisite and disturbing."

2017 Prize

The 2017 winner was David Grossman from Israel for A Horse Walks into a Bar. He shared the prize with his translator, Jessica Cohen. Nick Barley, a judge, described the book as "an ambitious high-wire act of a novel."

2018 Prize

In 2018, Olga Tokarczuk from Poland won for her book Flights. She shared the award with her translator, Jennifer Croft. Lisa Appignanesi, a judge, called Tokarczuk "a writer of wonderful wit, imagination, and literary panache."

2019 Prize

The 2019 winner was Jokha al-Harthi from Oman for Celestial Bodies. She was the first author writing in Arabic to win. Judge Bettany Hughes said the book gave them "access to ideas and thoughts and experiences you aren’t normally given in English."

2020 Prize

The 2020 prize went to Marieke Lucas Rijneveld from the Netherlands for The Discomfort of Evening. The prize announcement was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

2021 Prize

In 2021, David Diop from France won for At Night All Blood Is Black. He shared the prize with his translator, Anna Moschovakis.

2022 Prize

The 2022 winner was Geetanjali Shree from India for Tomb of Sand. This was the first Hindi-language novel to win the prize. She shared the award with her translator, Daisy Rockwell.

2023 Prize

In 2023, Georgi Gospodinov from Bulgaria won for Time Shelter. This was the first Bulgarian-language book to win the prize. He shared the award with his translator, Angela Rodel.

2024 Prize

The 2024 winner was Jenny Erpenbeck from Germany for her novel Kairos. Her translator, Michael Hofmann, shared the prize. This was the first time a German writer or a male translator won the award.

2025 Prize

The 2025 winner was Banu Mushtaq from India for Heart Lamp: Selected Stories. Her translator, Deepa Bhasthi, shared the prize. This was the first time a book translated from Kannada won, and Deepa Bhasthi was the first Indian translator to win.

International Booker Prize facts for kids

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