Independent Foreign Fiction Prize

The Independent Foreign Fiction Prize (1990-2015) was a British literary award. It was inaugurated by British newspaper The Independent to honour contemporary fiction in translation in the United Kingdom. The award was first launched in 1990 and ran for five years before falling into abeyance. It was revived in 2001 with the financial support of Arts Council England. Beginning in 2011 the administration of the prize was taken over by Booktrust, but retaining the "Independent" in the name. In 2015, the award was disbanded in a 'reconfiguration' in which it was merged with the Man Booker International Prize.

Entries (fiction or short stories) were published in English translation in the UK in the year preceding the award by a living author. The prize acknowledged both the winning novelist and translator, each being awarded £5,000 and a magnum of champagne from drinks sponsor Champagne Taittinger.

Winners, shortlists and longlists

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

Blue Ribbon () = winner

1990

• Orhan Pamuk, The White Castle (Turkish, Victoria Holbrook)

1991

• Milan Kundera, Immortality (Czech, Peter Kussi)

1992

• Simon Leys, The Death Of Napoleon (French, Patricia Clancy)

1993

• José Saramago, The Year of the Death of Ricardo Reis (Portuguese, Giovanni Pontiero)

1994

• Bao Ninh, The Sorrow of War (Vietnamese, Phanh Thanh Hao)

1995

• Gert Hofmann, The Film Explainer (German, Michael Hofmann)

1996 to 2000

Prize in abeyance.

2001

Shortlist

• Marta Morazzoni, The Alphonse Courrier Affair (Italian, Emma Rose)
• Marc Dugain, The Officers' Ward (French, Howard Curtis)
• Michel Houellebecq, Atomised (also published as "The Elementary Particles") (French, Frank Wynne)
• Antonio Tabucchi, The Missing Head of Damasceno Monteiro (Italian, Patrick Creagh)
• May Telmissany, Dunyazard (French, Roger Allen)
• Hans-Ulrich Treichel, Lost (German, Carol Brown Janeaway)

2002

Shortlist

• W.G. Sebald (posthumously), Austerlitz (German, Anthea Bell)
• Agnès Desarthe, Five Photos of My Wife (French, Adriana Hunter)
• Dai Sijie, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (French, Ina Rilke)
• Andrey Kurkov, Death and the Penguin (Russian, George Bird)
• Hanan al-Shaykh, Only in London (Arabic, Catherine Cobham)
• H.M. van den Brink, On the Water (Dutch, Paul Vincent)

2003

Shortlist

• Per Olov Enquist, The Visit of the Royal Physician (Swedish, Tiina Nunnally)
• Frédéric Beigbeder, £9.99 (French, Adriana Hunter)
• Peter Stephan Jungk, The Snowflake Constant (German, Michael Hofmann)
• Mario Vargas Llosa, The Feast of the Goat (Spanish, Edith Grossman)
• José Saramago, The Cave (Portuguese, Margaret Jull Costa)
• José Carlos Somoza, The Athenian Murders (Spanish, Sonia Soto)

2004

Shortlist

• Javier Cercas, Soldiers of Salamina (Translated from the Spanish by Anne McLean)
• Juan Marsé, Lizard Tails (Translated from the Spanish by Nick Caistor)
• Elke Schmitter, Mrs Sartoris (Translated from the German by Carol Brown Janeway)
• Ricardo Piglia, Money to Burn (Translated from the Spanish by Amanda Hopkinson)
• Luther Blissett, Q (Translated from the Italian by Shaun Whiteside)
• Mahi Binebine, Welcome to Paradise (Translated from the French by Lulu Norman)

2005

Shortlist

• Frédéric Beigbeder, Windows on the World (French, trans. by Frank Wynne)
• Chico Buarque, Budapest, (Portuguese, trans. by Alison Entrekin)
• Irina Denezhkina, Give Me (Songs for Lovers), (Russian, trans. by Andrew Bromfield)
• Xiaolu Guo, Village of Stone, (Chinese, trans. by Cindy Carter)
• Orhan Pamuk, Snow, (Turkish, trans. by Maureen Freely)
• Elif Şafak, The Flea Palace, (Turkish, trans. by Muge Gocek)

2006

The 2006 prize was announced in May. The jury for the 2006 Prize was composed of: Boyd Tonkin (literary Editor, The Independent), the writers Paul Bailey, Margaret Busby and Maureen Freely, and Kate Griffin (Arts Council England).

Shortlist

• Per Petterson, Out Stealing Horses (Norwegian; Anne Born; Harvill Secker)
• Pawel Huelle, Mercedes-Benz (Polish; Antonia Lloyd-Jones; Serpent's Tail)
• Tahar Ben Jelloun, This Blinding Absence of Light (French; Linda Coverdale; Penguin)
• Imre Kertész, Fatelessness (Hungarian; Tim Wilkinson; Harvill Secker)
• Magda Szabó, The Door (Hungarian; Len Rix; Harvill Secker)
• Dubravka Ugrešić, The Ministry of Pain (Croatian; Michael Henry Heim; Saqi)

Also longlisted

• Tonino Benacquista, Someone Else (translated from the French by Adriana Hunter; Bitter Lemon)
• Stefan Chwin, Death in Danzig (Polish; Philip Boehm; Secker & Warburg)
• Philippe Claudel, Grey Souls (French; Adriana Hunter; Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
• Marie Darrieussecq, White (French; Ian Monk; Faber)
• Karen Duve, This is Not a Love Song (German; Anthea Bell; Bloomsbury)
• David Grossman, Lovers and Strangers (Hebrew; Jessica Cohen; Bloomsbury)
• Judith Hermann, Nothing but Ghosts (German; Margot Bettauer Dembo; Fourth Estate)
• Ellen Mattson, Snow (Swedish; Sarah Death; Jonathan Cape)
• Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore (Japanese; Philip Gabriel; Vintage)
• Dai Sijie, Mr Muo's Travelling Couch (French; Ina Rilke; Chatto & Windus)

2007

Shortlist

• José Eduardo Agualusa, The Book of Chameleons, (Portuguese, trans. Daniel Hahn)
• Per Olov Enquist, The Story of Blanche and Marie, (Swedish, trans. Tiina Nunnally)
• Vangelis Hatziyannidis, Four Walls (Greek, trans. Anne-Marie Stanton-Ife)
• Javier Marías, Your Face Tomorrow, 2: Dance and Dream (trans. Margaret Jull Costa)
• Eva Menasse, Vienna (German, trans. Anthea Bell)
• Dag Solstad, Shyness and Dignity (Norwegian, trans. Sverre Lyngstad)

2008

Shortlist

• Paul Verhaeghen, Omega Minor (translated by the author from the Dutch)
• Pawel Huelle, Castorp (translated by Antonia Lloyd Jones from the Polish)
• Daniel Kehlmann, Measuring the World (translated by Carol Brown Janeway from the German)
• Bengt Ohlsson, Gregorius (translated by Silvester Mazzarella from the Swedish)
• Lars Saabye Christensen, The Model (translated by Don Barlett from the Norwegian)
• Marlene van Niekerk, The Way of the Women (translated by Michiel Heyns from the Afrikaans)

Also longlisted

• Alaa al Aswany, The Yacoubian Building (translated by Humphrey Davies from the Arabic)
• Jenny Erpenbeck, The Book of Words (translated by Susan Bernofsky from the German)
• Bi Feiyu, The Moon Opera (translated by Howard Goldblatt from the Chinese)
• Ismail Kadare, Agamemnon's Daughter (translated by David Bellos from the French)
• Sayed Kashua, Let It Be Morning (translated by Miraim Shlesinger from the Hebrew)
• Erwin Mortier, Shutterspeed (translated by Ina Rilke from the Dutch)
• Alan Pauls, The Past (translated by Nick Caistor from the Spanish)
• Peter Pišťanek, Rivers of Babylon (translated by Peter Petro from the Slovak)
• Laura Restrepo, Delirium (translated by Natasha Wimmer from the Spanish)
• Yasmina Traboulsi, Bahia Blues (translated by Polly McLean from the French)
• Enrique Vila-Matas, Montano (translated by Jonathan Dunne from the Spanish)

2009

Shortlist

• Evelio Rosero, The Armies (translated by Anne McLean from the Spanish)
• Celine Curiol, Voice Over (translated by Sam Richard from the French)
• Ma Jian, Beijing Coma (translated by Flora Drew from the Chinese)
• Ismail Kadare, The Siege (translated by David Bellos from the Albanian via French)
• Juan Gabriel Vasquez, The Informers (translated by Anne McLean from the Spanish)
• AB Yehoshua, Friendly Fire (translated by Stuart Schoffman from the Hebrew)

Also longlisted

• Sjón, The Blue Fox (translated by Victoria Cribb from the Icelandic)
• Jose Eduardo Agualusa, My Father's Wives (translated by Daniel Hahn from the Portuguese)
• Dag Solstad, Novel 11, Book 18 (translated by Sverre Lyngstad from the Norwegian)
• Yoko Ogawa, The Diving Pool (translated by Stephen Snyder from the Japanese)
• Eshkol Nevo, Homesick (translated by Sondra Silverston from the Hebrew)
• Linn Ullmann, A Blessed Child (translated by Sarah Death from the Norwegian)
• Thomas Glavinic, Night Work (translated by John Brownjohn from the German)
• Gyorgy Dragoman, The White King (translated by Paul Olchvary from the Hungarian)
• Alexander Ahndoril, The Director (translated by Sarah Death from the Swedish)
• Saša Stanišić, How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone (translated by Anthea Bell from the German)

2010

Shortlist

• Philippe Claudel, Brodeck's Report (translated by John Cullen; French) MacLehose Press
• Julia Franck, The Blindness of the Heart (translated by Anthea Bell; German) Harvill Secker
• Pietro Grossi, Fists (translated by Howard Curtis; Italian) Pushkin Press
• Alain Mabanckou, Broken Glass (translated by Helen Stevenson; French) Serpent's Tail
• Sankar, Chowringhee (translated by Arunava Sinha; Bengali) Atlantic
• Rafik Schami, The Dark Side of Love (translated by Anthea Bell; German) Arabia Books

Also longlisted

• Boris Akunin, The Coronation (translated by Andrew Bromfield from the Russian) Weidenfeld & Nicolson
• Ketil Bjørnstad, To Music (translated by Deborah Dawkin & Erik Skuggevik; Norwegian) Maia Press
• Hassan Blasim, The Madman of Freedom Square (translated by Jonathan Wright; Arabic) Comma Press
• Elias Khoury, Yalo (translated by Humphrey Davies; Arabic) MacLehose Press
• Jonathan Littell, The Kindly Ones (translated by Charlotte Mandell; French) Chatto & Windus
• Javier Marías, Your Face Tomorrow, Volume 3: Poison, Shadow and Farewell (translated by Margaret Jull Costa; Spanish) Chatto & Windus
• Yoko Ogawa, The Housekeeper and the Professor (translated by Stephen Snyder; Japanese) Harvill Secker
• Claudia Piñeiro, Thursday Night Widows (translated by Miranda France; Spanish) Bitter Lemon Press
• Bahaa Taher, Sunset Oasis (translated by Humphrey Davies; Arabic) Sceptre

2011

Shortlist

• Santiago Roncagliolo, Red April translated by Edith Grossman (Atlantic Books), Spanish
• Marcelo Figueras, Kamchatka translated by Frank Wynne (Atlantic Books), Spanish
• Alberto Berrera Tyszka, The Sickness translated by Margaret Jull Costa (Maclehose Press), Spanish
• Jenny Erpenbeck, Visitation translated by Susan Bernofsky (Portobello Books), German
• Orhan Pamuk, The Museum of Innocence translated by Maureen Freely (Faber), Turkish
• Per Petterson, I Curse the River of Time translated by Charlotte Barslund with Per Petterson (Harvill Secker), Norwegian

Also longlisted

• Veronique Olmi, Beside the Sea; translated by Adriana Hunter (Peirene Press), French
• David Grossman, To the End of the Land; translated by Jessica Cohen (Jonathan Cape), Hebrew
• Daniel Kehlmann, Fame translated by Carol Brown Janeway (Quercus), German
• Juan Gabriel Vasquez, The Secret History of Costaguana translated by Anne McLean (Bloomsbury), Spanish
• Michal Witkowski, Lovetown translated by W Martin (Portobello Books), Polish
• Jachym Topol, Gargling with Tar translated by David Short (Portobello Books), Czech
• Juli Zeh, Dark Matter translated by Christine Lo (Harvill Secker), German
• Shuichi Yoshida, Villain translated by Philip Gabriel (Harvill Secker), Japanese
• Per Wästberg, The Journey of Anders Sparrman translated by Tom Geddes (Granta), Swedish

2012

Shortlist

• Aharon Appelfeld, Blooms of Darkness translated from the Hebrew by Jeffrey M. Green (Alma Books)
• Judith Hermann, Alice translated from the German by Margot Bettauer Dembo (The Clerkenwell Press)
• Yan Lianke, Dream of Ding Village translated from the Chinese by Cindy Carter (Corsair)
• Sjón, From the Mouth of the Whale translated from the Icelandic by Victoria Cribb (Telegram Books)
• Diego Marani, New Finnish Grammar translated from the Italian by Judith Landry (Dedalus)
• Umberto Eco, The Prague Cemetery translated from the Italian by Richard Dixon (Harvill Secker)

Also longlisted

• Haruki Murakami, 1Q84: Books 1 and 2, translated from the Japanese by Jay Rubin (Harvill Secker)
• Steve Sem-Sandberg, The Emperor of Lies translated from the Swedish by Sarah Death (Faber)
• Tristan Garcia, Hate: A Romance translated from the French by Marion Duvert and Lorin Stein (Faber)
• Matthias Politycki, Next World Novella translated from the German by Anthea Bell (Peirene Press)
• Peter Nadas, Parallel Stories translated from the Hungarian by Imre Goldstein (Jonathan Cape)
• Kyung-sook Shin, Please Look After Mother translated from the Korean by Shin Chi-Young Kim (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
• Dag Solstad, Professor Andersen's Night translated from the Norwegian by Agnes Scott Langeland (Harvill Secker)
• Amos Oz, Scenes From Village Life translated from the Hebrew by Nicholas De Lange (Chatto & Windus)
• Bernardo Atxaga, Seven Houses in France translated from the Spanish by Margaret Jull Costa (Harvill Secker)

2013

Shortlist

• Gerbrand Bakker, The Detour (translated by David Colmer from the Dutch), Harvill Secker
• Chris Barnard, Bundu (Michiel Heyns; Afrikaans), Alma Books
• Daša Drndić, Trieste (Ellen Elias-Bursać; Croatian), MacLehose Press
• Ismail Kadare, The Fall of the Stone City (John Hodgson; Albanian), Canongate
• Andrés Neuman, Traveller of the Century (Nick Caistor & Lorenza Garcia; Spanish), Pushkin Press
• Enrique Vila-Matas, Dublinesque (Rosalind Harvey & Anne McLean; Spanish), Harvill Secker

Also longlisted

• Laurent Binet, HHhH (Sam Taylor; French), Harvill Secker
• Pawel Huelle, Cold Sea Stories (Antonia Lloyd-Jones; Polish), Comma Press
• Pia Juul, The Murder of Halland (Martin Aitken; Danish), Peirene Press
• Khaled Khalifa, In Praise of Hatred (Leri Price; Arabic), Doubleday
• Karl Ove Knausgaard, A Death in the Family (book 1 of My Struggle) (Don Bartlett; Norwegian), Harvill Secker
• Laszlo Krasznahorkai, Satantango (George Szirtes; Hungarian), Tuskar Rock
• Alain Mabanckou, Black Bazaar (Sarah Ardizzone; French), Serpent’s Tail
• Diego Marani, The Last of the Vostyachs (Judith Landry; Italian), Dedalus
• Orhan Pamuk, Silent House (Robert Finn; Turkish), Faber
• Juan Gabriel Vásquez, The Sound of Things Falling (Anne McLean; Spanish), Bloomsbury

2014

Shortlist

• Hassan Blasim, The Iraqi Christ (Arabic; trans. Jonathan Wright)
• Karl Ove Knausgaard, A Man in Love (book 2 of My Struggle) (Norwegian; trans. Don Bartlett)
• Hiromi Kawakami, Strange Weather in Tokyo (Japanese; trans. Allison Markin Powell)
• Hubert Mingarelli, A Meal in Winter (French; trans. Sam Taylor)
• Yoko Ogawa, Revenge (Japanese; trans. Stephen Snyder)
• Birgit Vanderbeke, The Mussel Feast (German; trans. Jamie Bulloch) - special mention by the jury.

Also longlist

• Sinan Antoon, The Corpse Washer (Arabic; translated by the author)
• Julia Franck, Back to Back (German; trans. Anthea Bell)
• Sayed Kashua, Exposure (Hebrew; trans. Mitch Ginsberg)
• Andrej Longo, Ten (Italian; trans. Howard Curtis)
• Ma Jian, The Dark Road (Chinese; trans. Flora Drew)
• Andreï Makine, Brief Loves that Live Forever (French; trans. Geoffrey Strachan)
• Javier Marías, The Infatuations (Spanish; trans. Margaret Jull Costa)
• Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir, Butterflies in November (Icelandic; trans. Brian FitzGibbon)
• Jón Kalman Stefánsson, The Sorrow of Angels (Icelandic; trans. Philip Roughton)

2015

Shortlist

• Jenny Erpenbeck, The End of Days (German; trans. Susan Bernofsky)
• Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel, By Night the Mountain Burns (Spanish; trans. Jethro Soutar)
• Haruki Murakami, Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage (Japanese; trans. Philip Gabriel)
• Daniel Kehlmann, F (German; trans. Carol Brown Janeway)
• Tomás González, In the Beginning Was the Sea (Spanish; trans. Frank Wynne)
• Erwin Mortier, While the Gods Were Sleeping (Dutch; trans. Paul Vincent)

Also longlisted

• Tomas Bannerhed, The Ravens (Swedish; trans. Sarah Death)
• Marcello Fois, Bloodlines (Italian; trans. Silvester Mazzarella)
• Hamid Ismailov, The Dead Lake (Russian; trans. Andrew Bromfield)
• Karl Ove Knausgaard, Boyhood Island (book 3 of My Struggle) (Norwegian; trans. Don Bartlett (translator))
• Jung-Myung Lee, The Investigation (Korean; trans. Chi-Young Kim)
• Judith Schalansky, The Giraffe's Neck (German; trans. Shaun Whiteside)
• Stefanie de Velasco, Tiger Milk (German; trans. Tim Mohr)
• Timur Vermes, Look Who's Back (German; trans. Jamie Bulloch)
• Can Xue, The Last Lover (Chinese; trans. Annelise Finegan Wasmoen)