Independent Foreign Fiction Prize Shortlist

The Arts Council England has announced the shortlist for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize. The Independent describes the shortlist:

Two landmark works from leading literary exiles; two outstanding novels from the same strife-torn Latin American country; one story of love and family from a world-ranking senior author that switches between Africa and the Middle East; and one tale of longing and loneliness from a newcomer that finds it hellishly hard even to leave the Gare du Nord.

The £10,000 prize (£5,000 for the author and £5,000 for the translator) celebrates a work of fiction by a living author, which has been translated into English and published in the UK in the last year. The winner will be revealed on May 14th.

Here's the shortlist (almost all are available in the US):

• Voiceover by Celine Curiol, translated by Sam Richard from the French (Faber) (available in the U.S. here)
• Beijing Coma by Ma Jian, translated by Flora Drew from the Chinese (Chatto) (available in the U.S. here)
• The Siege by Ismail Kadare, translated by David Bellos from the Albanian (Canongate) (available in the U.S. here)
• The Armies by Evelio Rosero, translated by Anne McLean from the Spanish (Maclehose Press)
• The Informers by Juan Gabriel Vasquez, translated by Anne McLean from the Spanish (Bloomsbury) (almost available in the U.S. here)
• Friendly Fire by A B Yehoshua, translated by Stuart Schoffman from the Hebrew (Halban) (available in the U.S. here)

See the 16-title longlist here.