Some predictions...

On the eve of the longlist

It is difficult to get a list of 13 predictions from a group of 8 people who do this shadow judging thing just for giggles. That would be many conversations, much back and forth, and the dreaded “c” word - compromise. Instead, we just submit 5 predictions to our organizer every year, and hope that compiled final list is close to 13 books. But that is a silly expectation as we have different tastes and different reading experiences throughout the year leading up to this fun. We also have varying criteria as to what constitutes a good prediction. Some of us strike from the heart, others do not want one publisher or one translator to be overrepresented in their list, some try to second guess the judges striving for accuracy rather than personal preference, etc. A long winded way of saying that here are the 21 books that we collectively believe are most likely to show up on tomorrow’s longlist. At least some of us are also wishing for surprises.

· We Do Not Part by Han Kang, translated from the Korean by e. yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris (5 votes)

· Un Amor by Sara Mesa, translated from the Spanish by Katie Whittemore (3 votes)

· The Empusium by Olga Tokarczuk, translated from the Polish by Antonia Lloyd-Jones (3 votes)

· Stay With Me by Hanne Ørstavik, translated from the Norwegian by Martin Aitken (2 votes)

· Clean by Alia Trabucco Zerán, translated from the Spanish by Sophie Hughes (2 votes)

· Woodworm by Layla Martínez, translated from the Spanish by Sophie Hughes & Annie McDermott (2 votes)

· The Son of Man by Jean-Baptiste Del Amo, translated from the French by Frank Wynne (2 votes)

· Solenoid by Mircea Cărtărescu, translated from the Romanian by Sean Cotter (2 votes)

· On the Calculation of Volume (Book 1) by Solvej Balle, translated from the Danish by Barbara J. Haveland

· Brandy Sour by Constantia Soteriou, translated from the Greek by Lina Protopapa

· Mina’s Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa, translated from the Japanese by Stephen B. Snyder

· Jellyfish Have No Ears by Adèle Rosenfeld, translated from the French by Jeffrey Zuckerman

· Season of the Swamp by Yuri Herrera, translated from the Spanish by Lisa Dillman

· Vanishing World by by Sayaka Murata, translated from Japanese by Ginny Tapley Takemori

· A Sunny Place for Shady People by Mariana Enriquez, translated from the Spanish by Megan McDowell

· Napalm in the Heart by Pol Guasch, translated from the Catalan by Mara Faye Lethem

· Darkenbloom by Eva Menasse, translated from the German by Charlotte Collins

· Herscht 07769 by László Krasznahorkai, translated from Hungarian by Ottilie Mulzet

· Queenless by Mira Marcinów, translated from the Polish by Maggie Zebracka

· Dengue Boy by Michel Nieva, translated from the Spanish by Rahul Bery

· The Book of Disappearance by Ibtisam Azem, translated from the Arabic by Sinan Antoon