The jury of the Russian Booker Prize has announced the long list for this year’s award. Of the 78 initially considered for the prize, 24 have been included in the long list, a statement on the award’s website indicated. A number of well-known contemporary authors made the list, including Zakhar Prilepin, Vladimir Sorokin, Anatoly Kim, Elena Chizhova, Vladimir Kantor and others.
The jury this year is comprised of poet Evgeny Abdullaev, novelists Denis Dragunsky and Anatoly Kurchatkin and sculpture Alexander Rukavishnikov. Literary critic Andrei Ariev is the jury’s chairman.
The Russian Booker Prize is an annual literary award for the best novel written in the Russian language and published in the previous year. It retains the reputation as being one of the most prestigious literary awards in the country and aims to promote quality prose and commercial success.
The prize was founded in 1991 as the first non-governmental Russian award since 1917. It was initiated by Sir Michael Caine, the head of Booker plc. This company also established the Booker Literary Prize to cover England, the Commonwealth and Ireland in 1969.
There are four procedural stages for the annual Russian Booker Prize: the announcement of the nominees (January), the announcement of the "long list" (June), followed by the announcement of the "short list " (October), and finally the winner announcement ceremony (December). Books are nominated for the award by publishing houses, literary magazines, major libraries and select universities: the first ceremony being held in 1992.
Russkiy Mir Foundation Information Service
