Frankenstein in Baghdad on 2018 Man Booker International Prize Longlist

Jonathan Wright’s translation of 2014 International Prize for Arabic Fiction winner – Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi – is one of 13 books to make this year’s Man Booker International Prize longlist.

The Man Booker International Prize celebrates the finest works of translated fiction from around the world. It is awarded every year for a single book, which is translated into English and published in the UK. 

Saadawi, who lives in Baghdad, was the first Iraqi to win the International Prize for Arabic Fiction. His daring novel, set in the aftermath of the US invasion of Iraq, follows Hadi, a junk-dealer who collects human body parts from rubble-strewn streets and stiches them together, leading to the unwitting creation of a terrifying monster.

Frankenstein in Baghdad, which was published by Oneworld in the UK and Penguin Random House in the US, has been met with great enthusiasm – described by The New York Times as “brave and ingenious” and considered “a remarkable achievement” by The Guardian.

Oneworld will also publish The Baghdad Clock by Shahad Al Rawi, translated by Luke Leafgren, in June; Al Rawi’s novel is one of six titles still in the running for this year’s International Prize for Arabic Fiction.

The shortlist for the Man Booker International Prize will be announced on 12 April, with the winner of the 2018 prize announced on 22 May at a dinner at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.  

Watch the IPAF 2014 shortlist video of Frankenstein in Baghdad, and find out more on the Man Booker International Prize website