Badr Ahmad’s ‘Five Days Untold’ Makes Republic of Consciousness Prize Longlist

The “Republic of Consciousness” Prize yesterday announced their 10-book longlist. There are five translations on the list, including one from Arabic: Badr Ahmad’s Five Days Untold, translated by Christiaan James.

The prize, for “literary fiction of the highest merit from small presses in the UK and Ireland,” also includes books translated from Danish, Catalan, French, and Indonesian.

In their announcement, they note that “the small press world is so vital (we broke 100+ submissions for the first time) that this year there are 6 new presses who haven’t made the long-list before.”

Each of the longlisted presses will received £500 towards their work producing literature of high merit. Each of the short-listed presses will received £1500, with £1000 of that for the press and £500 for the author/translator. And the winner or winners, they write, “just get the glory.”

Prize organizers add that they hope to hold a longlist zoom event in the first week of March, and that the shortlist is set to be announced on March 26, 2022 at the The States of Independence book festival.

The complete longlist:

And Other Stories for Somebody Loves You by Mona Arshi

Dar Arab for Five Days Untold by Badr Ahmad, translated by Christiaan James

Daunt Books for Our Lady of the Nile by Scholastique Mukasonga, translated by Melanie Mauthner

Epoque Press for The Beast They Turned Away by Ryan Dennis

Fitzcarraldo Editions for Dark Neighbourhood by Vanessa Onwuemezi

Fum D’Estampa Press for The Song of Youth by Montserrat Roig, translated by Tiago Miller

Lolli Edition for After The Sun by Jonas Eika, translated by Sherilyn Nicolette Hellberg

Peninsula Press for Sterling Karat Gold by Isabel Waidner

Turas Press for In the Dark by Anamaria Crowe Serrano

Tilted Axis Press for Happy Stories, Mostly by Norman Erikson Pasaribu, translated by Tiffany Tsao

Also read:

#TranslateThis: Badr Ahmad’s ‘Black Rains’